


The Living Doll || Sasori

by FallenAmor



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:22:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26977294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAmor/pseuds/FallenAmor
Summary: Sasori Akasuna, a promising chunin of Sunagakure, was filed as a missing-nin at the age of fifteen. The following year, the Third Kazekage disappeared off the face of the ninja world without a trace. Years of silence and dead ends went by before 'Sasori of the Red Sand' was mentioned again, this time as a member for the infamous Akatsuki. In that dead space, what happened to convert his standing from rogue to criminal?© Copyright 2014-2020. FallenAmorDisclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the character or the tv show, movies, or anything associated to it. I just own my character and my story line.
Relationships: Sasori (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 11





	1. Going Rogue

Amidst the sunken city of Sunagakure was one of the darkest nights in its history. Atop one of the walls that shielded the city from outsiders was a familiar face - that of Sasori Akasuna. The male stood in a crouched position, looking down at the city he had departed from a year prior. Unfortunately, it still looked the same. The street lights were dim and there weren’t any signs of shinobi patrolling the city, but he had no doubt there were some lurking in the shadows.

This time was as perfect as it was going to get. The Third Great Shinobi War was ongoing and most of the Sunagakure shinobi had been enlisted to fight, including those who had just graduated from the Academy. He’d kept ties on his ex-village and found out that the Third Kazekage had returned to the village to address a crisis with the elders. Tonight was the night he was going to carry out his plan and kidnap the Sandaime to add to his collection. For all the work he had done, it was only fitting that Suna give him a going-away present. They could even tie it together as a birthday present too since he had recently turned sixteen.

Once the guards changed shifts, the redhead disappeared into the night. He still knew his way around the Kazekage’s Quarters and successfully infiltrated the building. An hour had passed, then two, then three. From the outside, the hidden village looked quiet and peaceful as civilian families slept and various shinobi stood silently at their posts.

The door to the Kazekage’s office burst open and the Kazekage’s advisor stared at the empty desk before clenching his fist. “Damn it.” The male hurried along the corridors, checking every door he ran past before approaching the guards at the entrance to the building. “Lord Kazekage has disappeared! Find him at all costs.” He hissed, before looking back down the hallway. Now he had to alert the elders.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Damn, defeating the Third really took a toll on his collection. Looking at the storage scroll attached to his side, he let a small, victorious smirk settle onto his face. No pain, no gain, he guessed. Now he had an exceptional addition to his collection - the strongest Kazekage his village had ever seen. Brushing off remnants of the iron sand off his flak jacket, he focused on his journey ahead. It had been almost an hour since he had assassinated the Sandaime, so he figured either the village was well into their search or they had just discovered that they failed their protector.

The male felt something dribble down the side of his face and he reached his hand up, discovering that he had a mild head injury. It must have been from the sand, he deduced. Seeing as he might also have a concussion, Sasori stopped for a moment, having reached an area with some trees, and focused on closing up his wound with a little bit of medical ninjutsu. Fighting the Third took a lot out of him, so he decided to heal enough to get by and keep moving.

A few days later, the male approached the border of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fire. He had been traveling non-stop as his goal for now was to avoid countries active in the Third Great Shinobi War and build his collection back up. His head injury was healing alright and he had already assessed that there were no other major injuries to tackle. The scratches and bruises he’d received from his previous battle would resolve themselves eventually.

“I heard your kid is doing well in the Academy.” A voice spoke. Sasori’s eyes narrowed as he jumped up into the trees and concealed his chakra even more than it already was. The voice wasn’t too close and he had already tossed his hiate aside, however he was pretty sure his face was posted in every bingo book up and down the land. 

Another voice interrupted his thoughts. “Yeah, he’s doing alright. He’s a really bright kid.”

There were three shinobi walking down the dirt path under him. One had short, spiky brown hair and brown eyes, the second had short blond hair and brown eyes, and the third had long, silver hair in a ponytail and dark eyes. Apparently the silver haired male was the last to speak because the others were nodding in agreement.

“You must be pretty proud of him then, Sakumo-san.” The blond answered back, causing ‘Sakumo-san’ to chuckle a bit.

Sakumo… Sasori had heard that name before. Oh right… Sakumo Hatake, the man responsible for killing his parents. He crouched down on the tree branch and watched as the trio carried on, most likely on a mission. When he was back in Suna, he had begged his grandmother to tell him what happened to his parents after his failure with Mother and Father, the replacement puppets. Reluctantly, his grandmother told him the name of their murderer. Fate was really funny by allowing him to see that man right now.

He had two choices in front of him - get his revenge and risk being exposed or continue on and let the man live. Since he had a kid at home, if he killed the man now, it would be fitting as his kid would feel the same as he was.Standing up, Sasori continued to watch the man before turning away and jumping to another tree limb, leaving the area. The risk wasn’t worth it. The emotional attachment he had felt for his parents had faded considerably and he didn’t feel the risk was worth taking. Quite frankly, he didn’t care about getting revenge for them.

Another two days went by and Sasori had exhausted himself of his chakra as he had barely taken any breaks in his travel. It was worth it though as he had finally arrived at his destination - the Land of Rice Fields. This country did not contain a hidden village and he was far enough from Sunagakure where they wouldn’t come looking for him any time soon.

Staying close to the border of the Land of Iron, Sasori set up shop. There was a gathering of trees where the branches and leaves hung low, a perfect place for him to make a little ‘home’, for lack of a better word. Once he completed his workshop, he arranged seals around the area to make it nearly impossible to find his hideout, even if someone were to walk right past it.

On his way to his destination, he remembered passing by a clearing in the forest back in the Land of Iron. It wasn’t too far from here, probably thirty to forty-five minutes away. As he passed by, he had remembered seeing many flowers and herbs. If they were used correctly, they could potentially become complicated poisons. Of course, he would need to see exactly what species were out there, however they were most likely different from the herbs grown in Sunagakure, which would be used to his advantage.

Deciding he wanted to scope out the area for a couple minutes, Sasori set off across the border.to retrace his steps. His assumptions were correct as he made it to the clearing in thirty-five minutes. It was bigger than he had remembered and in the distance was the starting of mountain range. He would, no doubt, find more herbs there as well. This clearing was far enough from the main roads that the only way anyone would come across it was if they were purposely looking over here. As he started scanning over the clearing, he thought back to one of the texts he read when he was still enrolled in the academy. Maybe this was the Land of Medicines he was interested in.

The sun was shining down on the clearing and he could make out the heat wave distortions over top of the plant life. For the most part, he had been walking around the outskirts of the clearing, however his senses pointed for him to turn his attention to the part of the clearing that was by the mountains. Retreating to the trees, Sasori approached the mountains and shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked into the clearing.

Towards the center of the clearing was a female who was collecting herbs and placing them in a small wicker basket by her side. She looked a little younger than he was, maybe thirteen, with snow white hair that was tied into a bun on the top of her head, her bangs and loose side strands framing her face. Her attire was quite different from the normal shinobi wear he had on. She had on a beige kimono dress that reached the tops of her knees with a slit on her left side that stretched to her hip. There was no right sleeve on the top, however the left sleeve reached a little bit past her wrist. Underneath the kimono was black spandex shorts that also stopped at her knees. The kimono was secured with a purple rope belt that was tied in a huge inverted bow on her back, her left leg was fully bandaged from her waist to her ankle, and she had on black sandals that covered most of her feet much like his own. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see any village insignia on her so he didn’t know where she was from.

The female turned her head in his direction and Sasori disappeared, retreating further back into the forest. He could see the girl gather her, now full, basket and leave the clearing. Deciding he had done enough scoping, Sasori returned back to his hidden abode. The clearing had some herbs that would be useful to him, so he would go back another day to collect. The mysterious female he had seen didn’t intrigue him; she was probably a local. Right now, he had another matter to attend to. Pulling out a scroll, he cleared the large table in the center of the workshop and rolled it out. Releasing the seal, the body of the Third Kazekage appeared on the table with a small cloud of smoke. It was time to get to work.


	2. Snow White

FLASHBACK

A groan escaped from under a blanket as a hand reached out from under it and smacked the ringing alarm clock on the bedside table. It took a couple of tries before the ringing stopped. A few minutes later, a head peeked out from under the solid green quilt, snow white hair sticking in every direction and tired eyes opening. It was yet another day in Kusagakure and the poor child was dreading what was to come. It was a training day.

Slinking out the bed, the female padded over to the bathroom to take a quick shower then settled down in front of her bedroom vanity to brush the tangles out of her hair. Once she was satisfied, she quickly tied her hair in a high bun and slipped on her ninja uniform - black pants, a black quarter sleeve shirt, and her forest green flak jacket. Picking up her traditional, dark green headband, she tied it around her forehead and fixed her bangs before deciding she was ready to face the day.

“Shizuka, you’re leaving already? I’m almost done with breakfast.” A voice called as the girl left her room and walked past the kitchen. She turned to see her mother donning an apron as she made eggs on the stove. “Your father should be coming out soon.”

Shizuka sent her mother a sympathetic smile. “If I stay, I’ll be late for training.” The toaster sprang alive, showcasing two pieces of slightly burnt toast. The female picked one slice up and ran for the door. “I’ll be home for dinner though! I promise!” Her mother shook her head in disapproval as the young girl disappeared out the front door.

“You better not use any forbidden techniques!” She called after her.

Shizuka frowned at her mother’s comment as she bit into her piece of toast and headed for the training grounds. Forbidden techniques… Was that really what her clan had been reduced to? Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she hurried along. If she took the shortcut through the farmer’s land, she would make it right on time. 

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Just as she had expected, training was hell. All the newly appointed chunin were assembled at the training grounds and one of the top jonin, the Kusakage’s assistant, greeted them with a new meaning for the word ‘training’. It had been almost six hours since they had started and Shizuka’s chakra levels were depleted, not to mention that she couldn’t feel her legs and arms. Laying on the ground, she looked up at the sky during their rare break and watched the clouds slowly pass by. Things could’ve been worse; it could’ve been raining.

Suddenly, an explosion in the northwest region of the village went off, alerting everyone. Ignoring the previous exhaustion she was feeling, Shizuka immediately got up from the ground, fully powered by adrenaline. The jonin narrowed his eyes and faced the chunin.

“This is it, brats. The village is under attack.” He gathered their attention. “Your job is to go to the front lines and follow your seniors. The genin will take care of evacuation procedures. Now go!”

The chunin scattered, Shizuka included. As they moved, a couple more explosions appeared in various parts of the village. Civilians screamed as they ran out of their homes and there were already casualties. Another explosion went off a meter away from the female and she watched in horror as a man was blown out of his home’s window, his limbs detaching from his body due to the sheer force from the blast. The female could feel her stomach churning at the sight and she stopped running, placing her hand on a nearby wall to steady herself as she willed herself not to throw up at the gut-wrenching sight.

“Shizuka, are you alright?” A girl came over to the white-haired adolescent, but she couldn’t hear her. As she heard more explosions and screams, she could only think back to the Academy. She had heard and read so much about war, but she had never experienced it. After all, she was only ten years old. Was this… was this what war felt like? What it looked like? What it smelled like? What it tasted like?

“What are you two doing? Everyone to the front lines, now!” A shinobi passed by them, no doubt their senior. “Damn you, Iwagakure. All available bodies need to be fighting.”

Shizuka nodded weakly and assured the girl next to her that she was fine before following their senior. The next scene she witnessed was on a totally different level. There were only but so many shinobi from her village, whereas the people from Iwagakure seemed to be multiplying every moment. Looking back, the adolescent saw how her village was falling to ruins due to the attack and somehow, she found the courage to take off into the fight. Her village needed her, so if she had to fight, so be it.

The battle dragged on for hours and Shizuka was getting tired, but she couldn’t stop now. It didn’t help that she ran into the fight without her full chakra capacity. Although she was a chunin and could fight offensively, she had basic mastery of medical ninjutsu, so her direct orders were to heal her fellow village mates. Hearing her mother’s words echo in her mind, she reluctantly used alternate jutsus to try and keep the enemies at bay. She alternated between earth and water style jutsus to protect herself while she tried to heal her allies, however her medical abilities could only go but so far. A lot of her fellow shinobi were damaged beyond repair.

The battle lasted a couple of days and it was quickly leaning in Iwagakure’s favor. In an attempt to turn the tides, the Kusakage ordered Shizuka and a fellow chunin, Amane Hashira, to go alert Konohagakure of the attack and request for assistance. Shizuka turned to the female, who she remembered asked if she was okay prior to this meeting, before turning back to the village leader and nodding her head. Seconds later, the two were fleeing the village, hoping to arrive at Konoha sooner rather than later.

While they were on their way, they were attacked by a couple of Iwa-nin. Amane narrowed her eyes as she puffed up her cheeks and blew out solid rocks from her mouth as if they were bullets. The Iwa-nin easily dodged and returned the favor with their own earth style techniques before resorting to taijutsu. Being as these were experienced shinobi whereas Shizuka and Amane were freshly promoted chunin, the tides quickly took a turn. Shizuka could barely keep up as taijutsu wasn’t one of her main points. 

Amane was stabbed in the neck with a kunai, the wound paralyzing her from the neck down as she bled out. Shocked, Shizuka wanted to help her but how could she when there were three Iwagakure shinobi standing in front of her with the intent to kill. Instead, she made the executive decision to disobey her mother’s warning, and performed her clan’s jutsu. Her blue eyes melted into a solid brown with a gold ring around the outside.

“Mud Release: Bottomless Mud Hole.”

Shizuka watched as the shinobi were sucked into the earth and killed as their lungs filled with muck. The female quickly rushed to Amane’s side and assessed the girl visually as she tried to wipe the mud off of her hands.

“Don’t you dare touch me.” Amane spoke weakly, although her eyes burned with an intensity. “What are you? You’re not normal.” She bit out at the female. “I’d rather die than be treated by the likes of you.”

Shizuka paused for a moment. “...Is that what you really want?”

“Yes.”

The white-haired female froze as she tried to comprehend what the girl had just told her. Was this the same girl who showed so much concern when she asked if she was alright, even though she didn’t know her? No… this was what her mother had been trying to warn her about. This was the reason why her clan never used their own kekkei genkai and deemed it forbidden. And the reason why from this day forward, she would never perform Mud Release again.

Konohagakure made it to Kusagakure before Shizuka ever stepped foot into the village. They were surprised to see the once peaceful village reduced to crumbs and the shinobi of Iwagakure ready to attack. During this time, Shizuka had wandered back to the village, unable to complete her mission. Her mind was swirling a mile a minute as she saw the destruction of her home. Her clan’s section of the village was nothing but rocks with bodies hanging out. Smoke rose into the sky from the explosions. All her village needed now was a white flag. Before she could do anything about it, the female dropped to the ground, passing out.

END FLASHBACK

“This is the special one, correct? What does its chart say now?”

“Snow White. Age thirteen. Blood type is O negative.”

“Good. Take it back to its cell and make sure its heart is still beating. We’ll continue in the morning.”

For some reason, Shizuka couldn’t seem to open her eyes, let alone move her body. It was as if it required too much effort on her part. Her hearing was fine though; she could make out everything that was being said. Her body seemed to be laying in something - maybe a chair? Someone had just picked her up though and was holding her in their arms.

“Yes, Lord Orochimaru.”

She knew this voice. It was Kabuto-senpai. She concluded that he was the one carrying her body. After what seemed like forever, she was placed on another surface, presumably her bed. By the time she had made it to her cell, Shizuka was able to barely open her eyes, however she still couldn’t move her body and her right arm felt really sore.

“Nearly all of your blood was drained from your body, yet you can still function. Interesting.” Kabuto commented as he looked down at Shizuka. Deeming that satisfactory enough for making sure she was still alive, he took his exit, closing the metal bars behind him. The footsteps seemed to stray further and further away before there was silence.

Shizuka opened her eyes fully once he was gone and tried to move her body, getting a limited response from her upper body but not her lower body. Using her reduced strength to turn over onto her side comfortably, she let out an exhausted sigh. She just felt so tired.

“Shizuka-onee-chan? Are you okay?” A voice asks softly.

The female pushed herself to sit up, shaking as she did so, and turned her attention through the metal bars and across the dimly lit hall to another set of metal bars where a young boy sat on his own bed. His green eyes bore into her blue ones with concern, but Shizuka smiled.

“Yes, Kimimaro-chan, I’m fine. I just need some rest.” She reassured the male before laying back down and staring at the wall until darkness consumed her and she fell asleep.


	3. Confrontation

FLASHBACK

Shizuka had found herself laying on a hard surface when she finally woke up, her head throbbing. Groggily, she opened her eyes and looked around. When she had passed out, she remembered looking at her fallen village, but now she was in what looked to be like an underground cave. It looked like she was by herself as she couldn’t sense anyone near. There were a couple of dim lights around the room from candles, but overall, it was really dark. Looking down at herself, she gasped when she noticed her traditional chunin garb had been replaced with a simple, loose fitting beige dress and her sandals were missing. Her left leg was still fully bandaged and her hair was no longer in a bun but out, loose and cascading down to her mid back. She felt a small sense of panic when she noticed her forehead protector was nowhere to be found.

The ten year old swung her legs over the stone block she was on and slowly got down. Aside from the outfit change, she didn’t see anything different on her and she breathed a sigh of relief. The only opening to the room was sealed off so she figured she was stuck here. After snooping around the room to find any other way out, Shizuka was unsuccessful and retreated back to the table, pulling her legs to her chest as she sat leaning against it. She was about to nod off when she heard the seal to the room be released and the entrance open. Quickly moving, she hid behind the backside of the table so the new person wouldn’t see her.

“Lord Orochimaru asked me to bring you to him.” The voice spoke. It was a male’s voice, but sounded young, like he was her age. “But we need to move now.”

The female assessed the situation in her head. She could try to attack then make a run for it, or she could follow the boy and see about this ‘Orochimaru’ person. “Who is Lord Orochimaru?” She asked timidly, trying to find the strength to use a jutsu if she needed to protect herself.

The boy walked over to where she was and the female immediately brought her hands up to guard. “He’s the one who saved you.” Taking one of her wrists, he pulled her up and proceeded to take her out of the room. Shizuka stumbled behind him and tried to pull her wrist out of his grasp.

“I won’t go anywhere until you tell me who you are.” She resisted his pull before she started screaming and hitting his arm with her free hand.

“You don’t have a choice. There’s no point in screaming; there’s no one around here.” Kabuto grabbed her other wrist so she would stop beating him. “My name is Kabuto.” Once the female stopped trying to hit him, he continued to pull her down the corridor. Since Lord Orochimaru’s defection from Konoha, they now had a lot of ground to make up in order to catch up with him.

The sunlight blinded the girl as she stepped out of the underground cave and into the familiar surroundings of the real world. She’d been in Kusagakure the entire time? They immediately started running and Shizuka started to lag behind as she didn’t know how long she had been passed out, but it felt like it hadn’t been just a couple hours. Kabuto’s grip on her wrist was the only thing that kept her close to him. Her stomach growled lowly and she frowned, reluctant to ask for food.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

It was a couple days before the two children reached their destination - the Land of Rice Fields. Kabuto led her through the trees as if he were his own personal compass and the two finally reached an opening in the ground. The opening was reinforced with stone and had the engraving of snakes at the top of it. The sight scared her and the fact that Kabuto was leading her down there made her even more fearful.

The corridors were similar to the ones she had seen before - dimly lit with candles. Finally, they reached a steel door and Kabuto released the seal, opening it up. In the center of the room were two chairs made of stone with a machine in between. There was someone sitting in one of the chairs who looked severely injured. He looked like he had lost a lot of blood, amongst other physical injuries, as his head was down and long black hair shielded his face. There was one thing that really stood out to her - the man looked so pale.

“W-Who is that?” Shizuka turned to Kabuto with wide eyes.

“This is the man who saved you.” The boy answered. “Lord Orochimaru.”

The female turned back to the man and slowly took a step towards him. This was the man who saved her from her village’s carnage? Did this happen to him because of her? Frowning, she turned back to Kabuto. “Is there no one who can give him medical attention? He needs blood.” She would perform the jutsu herself, but she didn’t feel enough strength in her where the treatment would be effective.

“That’s why you’re here. I know you contain the universal blood type, O negative. He needs your blood to help him before he can undergo any medical treatment.” Kabuto told her.

The white haired female’s eyes widened and she looked at the male. “How do you know that? I’ve never given blood before…”

Kabuto ignored her question. “He risked his life. Now, he needs your help. You don’t want to help him?”

Shizuka continued to look at the seemingly dying male. He risked his life for her? Because of that, it was only fitting that she help him before he died. She couldn’t help but wonder why someone would do this to him though because he sounded like such a nice man. Turning to Kabuto, she nodded her head and sat down in the chair beside the man. Kabuto nodded and began preparing her to collect blood whilst preparing Orochimaru for a blood transfusion.

Unbeknownst to her, Shizuka had signed herself up for a continuous cycle of blood loss. Once Orochimaru was healed and well, he had convinced her that he would always protect her in exchange for her blood donations. He coerced her into thinking that her blood was being used for the betterment of mankind and she believed him, blinded by the false sincerity of her ‘savior’.

END OF FLASHBACK

“I need a couple more herbs from the clearing.”

Shizuka snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Kabuto before nodding. “Which ones?” Today, she had been observing Kabuto’s studies in medical ninjutsu, committing the information to memory so she could try it out later on her own. Once he gave her a list, she smiled at him and headed out, leaving the hideout.

It had been three years since she started following Lord Orochimaru and Kabuto-senpai. Although her role had been set as an errand runner and a constant blood donor, she was happy. As long as she was doing something to help the man who saved her, she would do anything. Unfortunately she was unable to assist him in his main quest for a ‘vessel’, but she tried to make up for it any way she could.

As the thirteen year old traveled to the clearing, she couldn’t help but think back on the last time she had visited the haven. She was gathering herbs for a new concoction Lord Orochimaru was trying out when she couldn’t help but feel as though someone was watching her. When she had turned around, she didn’t catch anyone but she was able to sense a presence through the earth due to her Earth Release chakra nature. When she decided to leave, she didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary so she decided not to alert Kabuto-senpai about it.

As she approached the clearing, she could feel that something was off. Frowning, the female placed her hands on the earth and pushed a little bit of her chakra through to identify the disturbance. There was a body towards the back of the clearing near the mountains and it was someone she didn’t know. Deciding to head into the forest, she scaled the edge of the clearing until the intruder was in her sight. Male, fair skin, brown eyes, and messy red hair. Raising her hands in a hand sign, she prepared herself to confront the male. Before she could get within a meter of him, four senbon were thrown in her direction and she dodged them easily.

Shizuka kept her hands in the hand sign, prepared to trap the male in a earth-clad dome as she narrowed her eyes. “Who are you, where are you from, and why are you here?” She eyed the herbs he was inspecting cautiously. “If you pick anything from my garden, you will be executed on sight.”

The male let out a small sigh of annoyance and stood up, his back facing the girl. “You ask a lot of questions for a bratty little pest. Run along. My patience is wearing thin.”

The female, clenching her jaw in similar annoyance, proceeded with her jutsu. A dome rose from the earth and enclosed the male inside. Deeming her technique a success, she cautiously approached her creation. Contrary to her beliefs, the male had disappeared before he was trapped.

“You’re starting to get on my nerves.” A voice said from behind, shocking her. Turning around sharply, Shizuka was met head on with a kunai to her neck. This had never happened before. No one was ever quick enough to escape her dome, especially when they didn’t expect it. The metal of the knife wasn’t touching her skin directly, but it was close enough to cause her some discomfort. “One slice of the kunai would have you in agonizing pain and dead in three days max. No amount of healing would be able to save you.”

Shizuka frowned at this as she stared the male in the eyes. His eyes were cold, as if he could care less about human life in general. Judging by the flak jacket he was wearing, he was a chunin from whatever village he came from. Her eyes drifted upwards and landed on his forehead, near his hairline, where there was dried, caked up blood. “You’re hurt.”

If the red head was surprised, he surely didn’t show it and neither did he move. “You don’t seem scared.”

The female stayed silent. Honestly, she would agree with him to a point. She’d had her run in with death before and this was nothing like the war in her village so she wasn’t as scared as she would’ve been if she didn’t have that experience. “You’re not wrong.” She answered simply, her voice a little weaker than she would’ve liked.

For a moment, she thought the boy was amused with her answer. “This is your last warning.” With that, he disappeared and she was unable to trace his chakra signature. Letting out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in, she sunk down the side of her dome until she was sitting on the grass. Who was that boy? Clenching her fist, she beat herself up inwardly for letting him get the best of her. She was going to find out who he was. His worst mistake was letting her see his face.

Remembering why she even came to the clearing in the first place, Shizuka jumped up and released her dome. Running through the mental list of herbs she had organized, she quickly began to collect them. Kabuto-senpai would have her head if she took too long with the errand.


	4. I Know You

Not here… not here either…

Papers rustled as Shizuka scoured through scroll after scroll. There were some on medical techniques, some with seals that could possibly hold weapons or something else… She’d even found her blood donation log in the midst of all the paper, but that wasn’t what she was looking for. She knew Kabuto had files on various shinobi from all over the world, so maybe he had information on her intruder, however she didn’t want to ask him directly. He would have too many questions for her if she did.

Right now, Kabuto was out on an errand so she figured now would be as good a time as any to search around. As she moved around the room, she approached another bookshelf full of scrolls and reading materials. With a small sigh, she got to work and picked apart the scrolls. In the meantime, she arranged the materials in alphabetical order in case he came back and questioned what she was doing. Another technique scroll, experiment log, cards?

Shizuka put down the scroll in her hand and picked up a stack of cards that had an orange back with the word shinobi etched on the back. Flipping them over in her hands, she frowned as they were all blank. Her old sensei had these cards and she vaguely remembered what she said about them.

FLASHBACK

“What is the ultimate weapon?” Fumiko asked, her hands on her hips as she waited for a reply from the two genin standing in front of her. Shizuka furrowed her brows in thought as she didn’t know the answer to the question.

“A sword.” Her teammate, Midori, answered immediately, crossing his arms. “The bigger, the better.”

Fumiko sighed and hit Midori overtop his head with a scroll, causing the male to whine out in pain and clutch his head. “Wrong. The ultimate weapon is your mind. Someone can take away your sword, but they can never take away the knowledge that up here.” She pointed to her brain for emphasis.

Shizuka nodded. “Ah, I understand.” Midori, on the other hand, couldn’t refrain from rolling his eyes which earned him another hit.

Fumiko unraveled the scroll and nicked her thumb, wiping the blood across a seal and holding up a hand sign. There was a small puff of smoke before a stack of cards appeared. She picked them up and held them out for the kids to see. “These are ninja info cards. They look blank now, but if you put chakra into them…” She did as she said and information appeared on the cards to the genin’s surprise. “Anything you put on the cards is burned on with your chakra, so only the person who made the cards can reveal the information.”

END OF FLASHBACK

Shizuka groaned and put the cards back on the shelf. She couldn’t find a thing! She’d been in this room for hours now, but she wanted to find out about that boy. He wasn’t someone who was just passing by; there was something more interesting about him. Also, she had never seen someone with red hair before, although that was just a bonus. It was just his looks, but his aura, from what she could sense through the earth, was something else. There was something peculiar about it, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

Finally, she found a book that had some kind of information for her. It was an all black book with no writing on the outside. When she opened it, she exposed to all kinds of information. The front page stated ‘Wanted Persons’ and afterwards, the pages were divided based on locations. As she flipped through, she saw pictures, names, ranks, crimes, and prices. She’d found Kabuto-senpai’s profile and Lord Orochimaru’s profile in the Konohagakure section. Treason, illegal experimentation, theft… Thinking back to when she’d first met Lord Orochimaru, she couldn’t understand why someone would hurt him like that, however now she realized why. On the other hand, they didn’t realize how these experiments were going to help people. Lord Orochimaru told her at the cost of some lives, thousands of others would be saved. After all, shinobi should know more than anyone that death is inevitable.

As she flipped through the Sunagakure section, she noticed the jackets some of the shinobi had on. The boy had on the same flak jacket when she saw him last, so she used that as confirmation that he was a Suna shinobi. Studying the pictures as she flipped through, she tried to find any kind of resemblance she could. Finally, there was a page with a photo that was a little dark, but she could make it out.

Akasuna no Sasori, B-rank, capture on sight/bring back alive.

So, this was her intruder. He was a wanted shinobi, so she guessed it made sense that he was here versus somewhere closer to Suna. As she wondered why he left Sunagakure, her mind traveled elsewhere and she didn’t realize someone was coming up behind her.

“What are you doing, Shizuka-onee-chan?”

Immediately, the female closed the book in her hands and shoved it into an open space on the bookshelf. She turned to where the sound came from with a smile, hoping it would mask the obvious shock she received from being snuck up on. “Researching, Kimimaro-chan.” She began cleaning up the other discarded scrolls and putting them away as well.

“What were you researching?” The young boy asked, his green eyes showing nothing but indifference, however she could swear he was searching her for guilt.

“Just some medical ninjutsu.” She answered easily. Once she finished cleaning up, she stood up and smiled down at the boy. “Since you’re out and about, do you want to help me pick some flowers?”

After a couple minutes of thought, Kimimaro nodded.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Shizuka squatted down next to Kimimaro in a small field near the entrance to the base. The young boy was only eight years old and the youngest she had seen with Lord Orochimaru. She could be wrong as there were other people in the base, however she never saw those other people. The only thing that reminded her that they still existed were the screams and constant calls for help whenever the sealed door opened to that side of the base. She had to admit, hearing them was a little unsettling but she had to keep reminding herself that Lord Orochimaru was doing this to help mankind.

“Shizuka-onee-chan?” Kimimaro asked as he picked up a daffodil and examined it. “How did Lord Orochimaru find you? What made you want to stay?”

Shizuka blinked, not expecting these questions. Placing her basket on the ground next to her, she settled down beside him on her knees. “I don’t remember what happened or how he found me, honestly. I do know that I came here with Kabuto-senpai and Lord Orochimaru was badly hurt, so I gave him my blood.” She picked a couple of yellow tulips, placing them in the basket. “My blood is special and can be used to help a lot of people, so I stayed to help.” She smiled warmly at Kimimaro.

“So essentially, you’re a walking blood bag.”

“A-Ah…no...” The female didn’t expect the boy’s bluntness. She tried to laugh it off, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “I’m more than just my blood, Kimimaro-chan.” When the boy didn’t seem too impressed by her statement, she pursed her lips and motioned for him to come closer. “I’m going to tell you a secret.” Once Kimimaro leaned over, she grinned.

“You snore when you sleep.”

Kimimaro immediately pulled back from her, his face twisted into a small frown as he watched Shizuka laugh. Finally, she had gotten a small reaction out of him. As she tried to recover, Kimimaro stood up, putting some daffodils in the basket before heading back to the base.

“Don’t leave your big sister behind!” Shizuka jumped up, grabbing the basket and going after him. Another giggle escaped her lips which only caused the boy to quicken his pace. She took bigger steps as well and soon fell in step next to him. He didn’t look at her and she smiled, enjoying the sweet silence until all of a sudden the trees around them started closing in on her. Her eyes widened and she rubbed at them before looking around again. The trees were back in their regular condition and for a moment, she wondered if it was a genjutsu. A few steps later and the world went dark.

When Shizuka woke up, she was sitting in a stone chair similar to the usual one she sat in when she was getting her blood withdrawn. Her head was throbbing slightly as she opened her eyes, but she couldn’t move her arms. When she looked over to see what was wrong, she noticed a red tube flowing out of her right arm and into a bag. Her left arm also had a tube, but it was clear and attached to a bag hanging from a pole.

“You’re finally awake.”

Shizuka picked her head up and looked at Lord Orochimaru sitting in a chair in front of her with Kabuto standing at his side. She nodded her head in acknowledgement, but not too much. “What happened?”

“That’s what you should be telling us.” Kabuto rolled his eyes. “Kimimaro said you dropped to the ground outside the base and was unresponsive, however I don’t see anything wrong with you.”

The female frowned as she glanced between her arms once more before looking back at Kabuto. “I haven’t eaten much today, so that’s probably why. I’m sorry; I’ll take better care of myself.”

“You will. How will you be able to help me if you’re sick?” Orochimaru asked her calmly, a smile spreading across his face. “But don’t worry. I have something prepared for you.” His neck stretched out towards her and his mouth opened up, fangs protruding. Shizuka visibly paled as he came closer and tried to shrink back into the chair as best as she could since she couldn’t move. As his fangs sank into her right wrist, she let out an ear-piercing shriek. There was something cold being injected into her vein and her body felt as if it was freezing over.

Once his head retreated, she flinched as his fangs were pulled out. When she looked at her arm again, there was a wavy mark that circled her wrist like a bracelet. The mark was similar to pairs of eyes in her mind. Seeing the mark only partly distracted her from the fact that she was visibly shivering. “W-What did you do to me?”

“Don’t worry child, it’s not a curse mark.” Orochimaru nearly laughed at the female’s shocked face. “This mark will help you help me. If anything happens to you, your blood will still be viable.” He stood up from the chair and proceeded to make his exit. “The IV is almost done. Rest up, my child. You are still of use to me.”

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Sasori stepped back and examined his work. He’d just finished gutting out the Third Kazekage’s body and making sure his chakra system was still intact. Of course, it helped that he was still alive, barely, and unconscious. Making human puppets took an ample amount of time, however the end results were worth it. He was able to make eternally-sound art; not too many people could say that.

As he started the embalming process, a few thoughts traveled through his head. He’d made a couple human puppets and perfected his craft, however it wasn’t enough. There was still something missing. This process lasted about an hour, then he began weaponizing. He’d already envisioned the finished product, knowing where he wanted the hidden weapons to be and what they would consist of. That process took a couple of days. Once he finished, he sealed the new puppet away and sat down on a stool by the table.

Making puppets took a lot out of him. If he was a puppet, he wouldn’t have to feel this tiredness; he could carry on for hours on end. He could make himself into a weapon and use himself as he pleased. His eyes widened slightly as the ideas began to pour into his head. He was quickly formulating how he could make himself into a puppet. Prosthetics were still a new idea, however he believed he could make it work. He could start piece by piece, moving from the outside in. This way… he could finally achieve being art, in every sense of the word.

Pulling out an old puppet he didn’t use anymore, he began separating into pieces - two arms, two legs, a torso, and everything else. This was going to work. He could control himself and pull his own strings. As he was working, one of his traps was set off and he frowned. It was in the outer layer and his hideout was hidden well enough that the intruder wouldn’t be able to come across it.

Once everything was set up, Sasori took out a tourniquet and tied off the upper part of his left leg. He’d taken enough morphine that he was starting to feel numb, which was good. Disinfecting the area, he took out a small hand sword and positioned it.

Three…

Two…

There was blood everywhere. Red liquid oozed all over the wooden table, staining the already dark brown wood. Knowing some medical ninjutsu, Sasori went to work repairing the damaged nerves in his leg and trying to stop the bleeding. Maybe he had taken too much morphine because his mind was starting to become a little hazy, however he still had decent enough control to take care of himself. He would need to work fast if he wanted to preserve the leg for reattachment.

As he was dealing with the wound at hand, he barely noticed that his second and third layers of defense had been breached. Someone was approaching and here he was bleeding out on a table. Grabbing a few poison-doused senbon, his eyes narrowed as he sensed a presence on the other side of the door. Once the door opened, a flurry of senbon immediately attacked the trespasser.

A body fell to the ground and Sasori tilted his head, looking at it as he continued to heal himself. The body looked oddly familiar. White hair, tan robe, purple belt… Ah, the girl he’d seen in the meadow a couple days ago. The poison on the senbon wouldn’t kill her instantly, but it would immobilize her until her untimely death. It wasn’t until the body melted into a puddle of mud that his eyebrows raised. Mud?

A shadow appeared next to him and Sasori cursed inwardly to himself as the morphine had delayed his senses a lot more than he realized. A pair of hands joined his, a green glow acquiring them and he looked at the user with wide eyes. The female he had just “killed” was now standing next to him and helping him.

“Are you mad?” The female spoke as she worked a lot faster than what he was mustering. “Why did you cut off a perfectly capable leg? Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Sasori grew agitated at the sheer sound of the girl’s voice. “You’re loud. Shut up.”

She ignored him and instead murmured to herself about his condition. “This won’t do..” She performed four hand seals before placing her hands over his open leg wound. The tips of her hands melted off into mud until it covered the entire wound before she let go. “My mud is chakra infused. It will repair the wound and preserve it until we can reattach the leg. Also, it’s safe so it won’t get infected or anything.”

“Mud jutsu. That’s new.” Sasori mumbled to himself. He swung his working leg off the table and pulled one of the legs he took off of an old puppet, attaching it as his temporary fix until he finished his work.

“How about a ‘thank you, Shizuka’?” The girl crossed her arms. She watched as he immediately stood up and pulled his detached leg to him. “W-Wait! You shouldn’t be standing this quickly. You just lost so much blood!”

Sasori ignored her and began removing the unnecessary muscles and tissue from inside his leg. Shizuka watched in horror and nearly gagged as he began preserving his leg like one would prepare a body for a funeral. When she turned to look at him, she noticed he was sweating and his face was flushed. Regardless of her methods, he was starting to get an infection.

“I’ll be right back!” Shizuka announced before running out of the small home. She immediately went out into the meadows and searched around until she found the couple of herbs she was looking for. It was a lot harder to see since it was dark outside, but the earth had guided her to the right plants. Returning to Sasori, she opened a scroll she had hidden in her robe and released the seal. At her disposable were a couple of tools to grind the herbs, a thermos of water, and an empty bag and tube.

Inserting the tube into her arm, she began drawing her blood as she prepared some medicine for the male. By the time he was finished embalming his leg, she had finished the medicine and the blood bag was nearly full. Taking the needle out of her arm, she replaced it with a fresh one and walked over to the male. “Give me your arm.”

“I’m working. Leave me alone.”

Shizuka frowned and placed the bag and medicine on the table. She grabbed a hold of his wrist, refusing to let go. “You can do whatever you want after you let me see your arm.”

“Didn’t I give you a warning the last time I saw you?” Sasori didn’t bother glancing in her direction although he let her continue to hold his wrist.

The female rolled her eyes. “As a medic, I can’t turn a blind eye when someone needs help. Even if that someone is a stranger, Akasuna no Sasori.”


	5. Perpetual Blood

Sasori narrowed his eyes and let go of his leg, fully facing the determined female that was beside him. She continued to grasp the needle to a bag that held her own blood and some kind of medicinal concoction. How did this annoying child figure out his true identity? No, nevermind that… Now she knows too much and she’s definitely seen too much. She needed to die.

“So, you figured me out?” He cocked his head to the side slightly, his eyes becoming unfazed. “And how did you manage that, little girl? I don’t recall telling you my name.”

Shizuka frowned as she looked back at him, her glare becoming less defined. “I was curious, so I looked you up. I ran into wall after wall until I found your flak jacket. Then, I found you… in a black book.”

The red head continued to look at her. A black book? He guessed that it was more than enough time for his old village to put his information in the Bingo book. She must’ve been really searching for him if she had to go through those lengths to find him. Another question that popped up in his mind was how she had access to a bingo book when she was so young? She didn’t give off any indications to him that she could be a jounin.

“And what did that book tell you?”

Shizuka tilted her head as his page in the black book flashed across her mind. “It didn’t say why. It only said to bring you back alive.” Before Sasori could reply, she held the blood bag and medicine closer to him. “Nevermind that. Your body is trying to get used to having one less limb and you’ve lost a lot of blood. You need to take my blood.” The girl insisted. “My blood is universal; it can help anyone. This medicine I made will help lessen the strain on your body.”

“You are such a stupid girl.” He answered her. Because he had seen her take her own blood and observed all the herbs she put into the medicine, he deemed it satisfactory. His body was already immune to poison so if she tried anything, it would most likely be nullified. Taking the needle from her, he stuck it into the vein of his right arm and drank the medicine.

Shizuka smiled once he took her help, happy that he trusted her abilities enough to accept them, even if he didn’t trust her. Once the blood started flowing into his arm, she stepped back from him and observed the home. It was quite bare - a table in the middle that he was working on, a small cot in the back corner opposite from the door, and no windows. It looked just as bare as her cell back in the hideout.

“Why are you still here?”

Shizuka stopped analyzing her environment and turned her attention back to the male in front of her. Why was she here? She watched as he took the wooden leg he was using off. The mud over his wound was now dry, so he scraped it off before reattaching his real leg. The female couldn’t help but watch with eyebrows raised in surprise as he started bending his leg and testing it out. He was limping a little, favoring his right leg over his new left one, but overall he was fine.

“H-How did you…? But you cut it off…” The female could barely get the words to formulate as she couldn’t contain her shock.

“Your assistance hasn’t gone unnoticed, however you can leave now.” 

Shizuka looked back up at the male and frowned. Her better judgment was telling her that something was wrong and she needed to leave while she still had a chance, however the other side of her was curious and wanted to stay. What if he was going to cut off his other leg or an arm or something again? “Are you going to do that again?”

“Why are you so concerned?” Sasori asked her, a hint of interest showing in his voice.

“As a medical shinobi, I can’t leave someone alone if I feel that they have a chance of dying.” She answered. “What if you bleed out again and you can’t replenish your blood in time?”

Sasori didn’t answer her, but continued to test out his leg instead. After a few moments, he spoke up. “I can take care of myself, but since you’ve proven useful, I won’t reject your offer.”

The female looked up at the redhead in astonishment. She hadn’t expected him to say yes, but she had also wondered if he really would have let her leave unscathed. As she stood there, he gave her a list of rules to follow. He would tell her when to come and it was imperative that she didn’t keep him waiting. When she came, she was in charge of providing medication and blood, if need be, only. She was not to ask questions and if she told anyone about his existence, he wouldn’t hesitate to gift her with a slow, painful death.

The female nodded silently as she listened to his rules. Once he finished, she smiled and held her hand out to him. “I don’t think I formally introduced myself. My name is Shizuka.”

“I don’t care.” Sasori replied, detaching the leg from his body to make some adjustments. “Why am I waiting for you to leave?”

“Oh, right!” She started to leave before stopping. “Wait! How will you tell me when to come back?”

“You’ll know.” He answered with a bit of annoyance. Taking this as her cue, Shizuka said goodbye and took her leave. It was dark outside in contrast to the sunny afternoon Shizuka had seen right before she found Sasori. Surprised, she began to retrace her steps and run back to the hideout. Hopefully they hadn’t noticed that she’d been gone for too long. Usually she’s allowed to roam outside as long as she’s back in time for her donations.

Once she made it to the hideout, she snuck inside, looking both ways before turning every corner. After a while, she let out a small sigh of relief and started walking normally back to her room. She had almost made it when a voice came out of nowhere and it took every ounce of her strength not to jump out of her skin.

“Where have you been?”

Shizuka turned around to see Kabuto, who was pushing up his glasses to see her better. The female laughed sheepishly before sending him a smile. “I went out to the field, then I took a walk the long way back since it’s my recovery day. It seems I lost track of time.” She answered smoothly, stretching the truth. She absolutely couldn’t tell him about the mysterious Sasori she had met.

“I see.” His eyes narrowed slightly before he continued on, walking past her. “Don’t let it happen again. Your donations start early tomorrow.” She heard him murmur something along the lines of why Lord Orochimaru gave her freedom as he rounded the corner and disappeared. Returning to her cell, she sat down on the bed and looked across the hall. Kimimaro was fast asleep, breathing softly. Seeing as he was fine, she laid down to go to sleep herself.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

The next couple of years, Shizuka spent working with Sasori. She would keep up with the donation schedule in the morning, and during the day, she would either shadow Kabuto or go out to the fields. When she was out gathering herbs, Sasori would call her to stabilize him after another amputation. The amputations would be spread out over periods of time to allow the body recuperation time and so Sasori could alter his new puppet form to the best of its abilities. This was great for her because it lessened the suspicion from Kabuto as she didn’t see Lord Orochimaru as much as she used to. Besides, keeping Sasori a secret was a job in itself, so she was happy she didn’t have Lord Orochimaru watching her every move. As long as she wasn’t doing anything that would hinder his progress, she felt that it was okay to have this secret mission.

The said female had just finished giving blood and stood up, pulling the needle out of her arm and sealing the bags to put them away for storage. She was now nineteen, and her twentieth birthday was soon approaching. Kabuto-senpai finally had a little more trust in her since she never tried to run away so he allowed her to donate on her own, as long as she kept up with the schedule, although she just believed that he had more important things to do other than facilitate the blood bank. If she hurried, she could go out to the fields and pick up some herbs before Sasori might call for her.

As she left the storage room, she walked past her cell and tidied up her bed before looking across the hall at the empty cell. Kimimaro used to live there, but a couple years ago, he went with Lord Orochimaru to the North Hideout and she hadn’t seen him since. Shizuka often caught herself watching the cell and hoping that Kimimaro was alright and eating properly. Once she finished, she left the hideout and took a trip to the fields.

Being outside the hideout was such a refreshing feeling that she relished every time she stepped foot on the soft soil. The constant chakra running through the earth always made her feel at home, no matter where she went. Once she made it to the fields, she walked through the meadow until she reached the far side where there was a small stream that branched off from a nearby river and waterfall. There were little flowering white buds growing near the bank of the stream and she smiled. Covering her hand in mud to form makeshift gloves, she picked a couple of the clusters, being sure to conserve the roots in jars. Once she finished, she let the mud slide off her hands and washed them in the bank so they wouldn’t be dirty.

Lately, she hadn’t been contacted by Sasori - almost a year to be exact. It made sense because the last time she met with him, he had completed his transformation. It was intriguing, essentially seeing a puppet being controlled from the inside, but she wondered when he would come back - or if he would come back. Squatting next to the stream and holding her knees, she looked into the water as she thought about the journey to his completion.

FLASHBACK

Seventeen year old Shizuka was standing by the work table, watching as Sasori had pulled his arm off and began tinkering with it. Through the past three and a half years she had been working with him, she’d slowly added subtle accents to his abode (that were really just for her convenience) such as some stools made out of her own earth jutsu and flowers and herbs she’d picked from the meadow. He didn’t remove anything, so she assumed he didn’t care. So far, they had been able to successfully convert his arms, legs, and abdomen area. All that was left was his chest and head. Watching the process was truly mesmerizing for her; seeing that the limbs were still functioning every time he reconnected himself was astonishing.

“What are you so fixated on?” His voice interrupted her thoughts and she blinked, coming back to reality. He wasn’t looking at her as he was repositioning hidden weapons within the hollow cavity.

“You.” She answered simply. “It’s amazing how you can do this. I’ve never seen anyone use puppetry, but you’re able to literally bring your creations to life. Now with this, you’re able to use yourself to the best of your capabilities and even exceed your limitations. You won’t be affected by fatigue, hunger, and everything else that hinders people from rising to their full potential. You’ll be unstoppable. Eternal even.”

“Eternal.” He murmured the word as he attached a spare arm to his body in order to fully examine the main arm on the table. “What do you think of when you hear the word eternal?”

Sasori seemed talkative today, which was good in her eyes; it made the time pass smoothly. She pulled one of the stools to her and sat down. “Hm… Eternal means everlasting or something that will stay for many years. I like things that are eternal because I know that they’ll always be there when I want them. For instance, different beautiful paintings are eternal because you can hang them up and they’ll stay there unless you remove them, even though they may start to fade.” She tapped her chin in thought. “I guess I could say the same about your puppets. They’ll be there for years to come; all you have to do is just tweak them every once and a while so they’re still functioning correctly. Either way, I believe eternal is a beautiful thing, although it may get lonely.”

“How so?”

“You don’t think it would get lonely being eternal and everything around you isn’t? You’ll just watch everything pass by but you’ll still be here.” She frowned for a moment. “That sounds a bit depressing. I wouldn’t want you to be sad.”

Sasori stopped working on the arm in front of her and focused his attention on her instead. “So what would you do to combat that?”

“You could make me into a puppet.” She smiled up at him innocently. “Then I could control myself and we could keep each other company. It would have to be after I finish my other duties though.”

He scoffed and went back to work. “It’s not that easy to be a puppet master.”

“That’s why you would help me since you’re a puppet master yourself.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because you like me.”

◤━━━━━━━━━━◢

It was the day of her eighteenth birthday and she happily spent it sitting in the middle of the meadow, arranging a flower basket. As she placed the flowers, her mind drifted towards Sasori and a small frown settled across her facial features. The redhead had been frustrated lately and she could sense it, even though he wasn’t outwardly expressing it. Lately when she could come to help him, she wasn’t doing anything and he was always in deep thought. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was upsetting him; it was his body.

The arms and legs were very easy to take apart and reattach. With the abdomen, there was some difficulty regarding all of the nerves and blood, however it was manageable. The real vital organs were the heart, lungs, and brain which were providing all of the difficulty. He had to figure out a way to fully convert his body without killing himself in the process, and she couldn’t figure out any way to help him.

She sensed a familiar chakra signature through the earth and immediately stood up, picking up her basket. It didn’t take long for her to reach where the signature was coming from - Sasori’s home. She entered with a smile and set the basket down by the cot. Sasori was standing by the workbench, clothed in something she hadn’t seen him in before - a long black cloak with red clouds outlined in white, with an upper body cavity and head that looked similar to his features laying on the workbench. As she looked at the cavity more, she noticed a gaping hole in the center.

“I figured it out.”

Her eyes widened and she walked over to him. “How’d you manage to do that?”

“I wanted to have no weaknesses. A body that is truly eternal.” He frowned. “However, in these current circumstances, that can’t fully be done, but I can get as close to it as possible. Chakra needs a living aspect to be conducted through, so I’m going to seal all of my chakra and soul into a removable core of living flesh.”

Shizuka’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. A removable core? “How is that even possible?”

“I’ve learned a thing or two about seals from an associate of mine.” He took the cloak off and laid it on the cot in the corner before coming back to the bench. “Once I finish, you will place the core into the cavity and everything will be set.”

“Are you sure this is going to work?” She frowned as she looked at him. All of this sounded a bit far-fetched; she had never heard anything that could even be compared to this. “Have you even done this before?”

Sasori picked up a sharp kunai and held it to his open chest. “The rules are that you don’t ask questions. This is what I have to do to achieve my ultimate goal.” Before he could begin the procedure, Shizuka grabbed his wrist, stopping him. His eyes narrowed at the inconvenience in agitation. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t let you go through with this if you have a chance of dying.” She answered him.

“Don’t get in my way.” With one move of his arm, he flung her to the side where she landed by the cot with a heavy thud, her head hitting the floor with the most impact. The flowers from the now overturned basket scattered messily everywhere. “If you’re not going to help me, leave.”

Shizuka held her head as she could see a few black spots here and there when she tried to sit up. She hadn’t seen this side of him towards her since their initial meeting in the meadows. She knew that he wasn’t going to let up; he was so close to his goal. She could feel the tears coming from the sudden change, but she didn’t want him to see her like that so she quickly wiped them away. “I don’t want you to die.”

Standing up, she walked over to the workbench quietly. Taking this as her agreeance, he began again. Using the kunai, he carved a circle in the left side of his chest where his heart was. Using the blood from the wound, he carefully wove a long list of hand signs, each one building on the other as he gathered more and more chakra. It was a while before he was done, and once he reached the pivotal point, he wrote the kanji for scorpion in the center of the circle in blood and performed the final hand sign.

There was a powerful shift in the air that nearly blew Shizuka back into the wall and she covered her face with her arms to brace the blow. Sasori’s eyes closed and his body fell limp. Shizuka opened her eyes and immediately ran over to him, catching his body before it could completely fall to the ground. The kanji was burning into flesh and she quickly remembered his instructions. Carefully, she pulled the core out of his body. It was pulsating weakly and irregularly, reminding her of a real heart but more grotesque in a cylindrical form with veins sticking out. Moving to the work bench, she placed it in the open cavity and waited.

Moments turned into minutes as Shizuka stood and waited. The core simply sat in the hole and its pulses were slowly becoming weaker and weaker. Getting antsy, she began to wonder what to do. She couldn’t give him resuscitation because he didn’t have lungs anymore. What did this core need to survive?

“Why did you do this?” She asked the lifeless body in front of her, frustrated. Why was everyone around her leaving her behind? Her clan had passed away due to the attack on her village yet somehow she was left to survive, Kimimaro had left the hideout but for some reason she was still there, and now Sasori had abandoned her too. She clenched her fists until her nails broke into the lining of her skin. Looking down at her hands, she noticed the crimson liquid dropping on the workbench. Blood…? Having an epiphany, she quickly pulled out her scroll and released the storage seal for her emergency donation items. Forgoing the bag, she placed one needle in the radial artery in her wrist. By clenching and unclenching her fist, the blood began to flow out and she quickly placed the other needle attached to the opposite end of the tube inside the core.

Shizuka held her arm over the core, hoping gravity would help the blood flow faster. Using her free hand, she used medical ninjutsu to keep an eye on the core and make sure it was still functioning. Her head was throbbing from when she had hit the floor earlier, but she refused to let herself lose concentration. “Please, please… Open your eyes, Sasori-san.” The walls were starting to close in and she tensed up, shutting her eyes to keep her focus. This can’t happen again, not now. She was so close. Just a little more blood, and then…

“Do you treat all of your patients with your eyes closed?”

Shizuka’s eyes shot open and she immediately turned her head to see the eyes of the puppet head open and its mouth moving. She stopped using her medical ninjutsu and covered her mouth in shock as tears brimmed in her eyes. He was alive!

“Sasori-san!” She pulled the needle out of her arm and the core, setting it aside before wrapping her arms around the upper cavity. “I’m so glad you’re awake! I thought something went wrong! I’m so… happy…” The female’s words trailed off and she laid there for a moment over top of him.

“You can let go of me now.” Sasori told her, but the female didn’t budge. Could she not hear him? Tilting his head, he could feel his chakra swirling in the core so he extended some chakra strings out to where his body laid, connecting them to his arms and lower body. Once his body was reconnected, he sat up slowly. Shizuka slid down to the ground as he moved and he immediately got off the table, examining her.

“Little girl.” He called out to her, pushing her shoulder so she was laying on her back. He could tell she was breathing from the slow, subtle rise and fall of her chest, but she wasn’t responsive - like she had fainted. He shook her shoulder a little more to try to wake her up, but she was not reacting. “Hey. Wake up… Shizuka.”

END OF FLASHBACK


	6. Old Friends, New Friends

Standing up, Shizuka picked up the basket next to her and began walking. She didn’t know how long she was staring at the stream, but she figured she had been there long enough. Her feet took her to a very familiar home - Sasori’s abode. As she stepped inside, it looked as barren as she had found it almost a year ago. Picking up the jar of the herb she had picked, she placed it on a shelf with the other herbs she had collected over time. The previous jars had begun to collect dust, so while she was there, she busied herself with cleaning the small hideout before leaving.

“Sasori-san will return.” She murmured to herself as she walked down the narrow forested path with her basket full of flowers and herbs. They’d been together for a couple of years; he wouldn’t leave her behind. She had created a special bond with him over that time.

Coming back to Orochimaru’s hideout, she sauntered through the dimly lit halls until she had made it to Kabuto’s room. Room was an understatement; it was more of a nest for him. He ate, breathed, and slept experimentation in that room. It came as a surprise to see that he wasn’t in there. Not wanting to question anything, she dropped off the basket and began to head back to her room.

“What a pleasant surprise, Snow White.” An eerie voice interrupted her. “I was sad you weren’t here to greet me at the door when I came back.”

Shizuka turned around sharply and was met face to face with Orochimaru. The male looked as if he hadn’t aged a day since he had left. Taking a step back out of shock, she bowed her head respectfully. “Welcome back, Lord Orochimaru.”

“You don’t have to be so modest. I see you’ve grown quite a bit while I’ve been gone.” He eyed her before smirking and crossing his arms as he turned away. “Come with me.”

The female looked after him for a moment before following. What did he want her to do? Surely he didn’t know about Sasori; she had made sure to cover her tracks well and arrange her time so the schedules didn’t overlap. Maybe she was just feeling paranoid from the sudden surprise that he was back. This probably didn’t matter anyway; Sasori was gone.

Shizuka and Orochimaru entered the main room where she would usually get her blood drawn. In the room were a group of four people she didn’t recognize. There was a tall, robust male with patches of orange hair, a smaller female with red hair, a tanned male with six arms, and a pale two headed male with light bluish-gray hair. They all had the same signature purple rope belt that she had on, however their uniforms were adorned with the yin-yang symbol.

“Go ahead and introduce yourselves. Don’t be shy.” Orochimaru smiled as he motioned for Shizuka to step forward.

The white-haired female looked at the group of unknowns in front of her cautiously. This was the first time that she had seen new people here, since she had only ever known of the people locked away deeper into the hideout. Was that where they came from? Mustering up a smile to try and hide her faltering confidence, she spoke first. “Hello. My name is Shizuka. It’s nice to meet y-”

“What’s your body count?” The crimsonette cut her off.

Shizuka was confused as she replayed the question in her head. “Huh?”

“Damn, you deaf or something? How many opponents have you defeated?” The female crossed her arms impatiently.

“...Four.” Shizuka answered quietly as the images flashed through her mind. Three out of self-defense and the fourth was assisting voluntary suicide. None she was proud of to say the least.

“You’re weak as hell.” The red head scoffed. “I don’t even know why I’m talking to you right now.”

The robust male was next to speak, focusing his words on the rude female next to him. “Tayuya, please stop doing unnecessary things.”

“Shut up, fatso.” The Tayuya girl rolled her eyes.

Shizuka looked between the two curiously as she watched them bicker. The blueish-grey haired male on the other end of the line cleared his throat, causing the previous two to be quiet. He must be the leader of the group.

“Sorry about them. Seems like some people can’t outgrow their childish ways.” He spoke with a small sneer. “Since Lord Orochimaru is having us meet this way, you must be more than just a good-for-nothing little girl.”

“Sakon, hurry up. You talk too much.” Another voice called. This made Shizuka uneasy as she didn’t see anyone else open their mouth.

“Yeah, yeah.” The boy waved the voice off. “My name is Sakon and I’m the leader of this group. That voice you just heard was my twin brother, Ukon, who’s right here.” He turned slightly so she could see the other head she had noticed before look back at her. “This guy next to me with the extra arms is Kidomaru, the firecracker beside him is Tayuya, and the big guy at the end is Jirobo.”

Orochimaru nodded at the completion of the introductions before turning to Shizuka. “This is the Sound Five. Along with your previous duties, you’re in charge of their wellbeing.”

“Five? I only see four people here.” Shizuka’s features formed a frown. There were faint footsteps coming from behind her and her eyes widened slightly. This chakra signature felt very familiar. The steps came closer and closer until they stopped a couple of feet behind her. Turning around, she came face to face with a long lost friend.

“Kimimaro!”

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Sasori stood in silence, looking out at the horizon from the cliff he was on. The flaps of the Akatsuki cloak moved around his puppet shell due to the wind. It was late afternoon, the sun was starting to go down, and he was getting tired of waiting. Where was this man?

A few moments later, he could hear a pair of footsteps approaching him. It was about time. “You’re late.”

“I apologize.” A male voice answered. Sasori turned around to see the man he was waiting for - a young male with ash grey hair in a low ponytail and black rimmed glasses. The male had a plain black cloak on, however the hood was down. Kabuto Yakushi, his main source of information for the subject he was studying right now.

“What do you know?” Sasori began, getting straight to the point as he knew he would need to return to his annoying partner soon. There was a slight change in the atmosphere as Kabuto’s eyes faded into a trance-like state and he began to announce the report.

“The subject has returned to his hideout in Otogakure. His previous ally, Kimimaro, has returned with him. The plan as of right now is unknown, however he has recruited four allies for his next move - Sakon and Ukon, Jirobo, Kidomaru, and Tayuya. All members were given the Cursed Seal.”

Sasori narrowed his eyes inside of the puppet shell as he thought to himself. Was this man trying to create an army? How dare he disappear. If he was planning on attacking the Akatsuki with these newfound partners, then so be it. They would be no match for the army of puppets he had amassed. “Are there others?”

“The subject is still performing experiments so there are variables. Then there’s Snow White.” Kabuto answered instantly.

“Snow White? Elaborate.”

“Female around the age of twenty with distinctive, long white hair. She’s been working for the subject for about seven years.”

“She’s not an experiment?”

“No.”

“Then what is her purpose?”

“Essentially, she’s a living blood bank.”

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Kimimaro walked down the forested pathway. The scenery hadn’t changed as much as he thought it would. The trees were fully clothed with leaves and apart from the slightly overgrown brush, everything was just as he had left it.

Shizuka fell into step next to the male with a bright smile on her face. He’d grown so much, she couldn’t believe it. He was now a little taller than her and his hair was shorter than before. “I’m happy that I can see you again. Am I not allowed to look at you?”

“No, I didn’t say that.” The male replied as they reached the meadow. Kimimaro opted for examining the flowers while Shizuka picked the ones she noticed he was looking at. They stayed silent for a while, simply enjoying each other’s company before Kimimaro spoke up again. “Do you still have those fainting spells?”

“That’s the last thing I wanted you to remember me by.” Shizuka sighed. The white-haired female placed the flower she picked in a pile with the rest of them. “They aren’t fainting spells, but I’ve learned how to feel when they’re coming and counteract it.”

“So it’s happened more than once.”

“I can manage.”

“Shizuka.”

The female frowned and looked at Kimimaro, who showed a rather impassive expression. “I’m supposed to be worrying about you, not the other way around. I’m the oldest, remember?”

“But if you are no longer of use to Lord Orochimaru, then there’s no need for you to worry about me.” Kimimaro told her. Shizuka lowered her eyes and went back to picking flowers. It was that simple, wasn’t it? All this time, she’d been moving back and forth between Sasori and Lord Orochimaru, but if she couldn’t complete her duties, then what could she do? No one wants something that can’t benefit them.

“As long as there is blood coursing through my veins, I’ll always be of use to Lord Orochimaru.” She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes. “Let’s head back. I think we have enough flowers.”

The two made their way back to the base and Shizuka found herself in the lab, arranging the flowers she had picked from before. She replayed the earlier conversation with Kimimaro over and over again in her head. Lord Orochimaru was the man who had saved her from dying with her village. He’d given her a home, food, and clothes. Although he had done so much for her, how long until she’d be relieved of her duties? Once that happens, she can go and find Sasori.

Shaking her head, Shizuka mentally slapped herself. Her loyalty lies with Lord Orochimaru; she had made that commitment. He hadn’t given her a reason to think otherwise, although the screams she heard when she occasionally went near the other side of the hideout did make her feel a little uneasy. However, he told her what the experiments were for - they were going to save mankind. So, she owed it to him to stay and help by any means possible. After all, where else would she go? Her home was gone.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her head and Shizuka dropped the flowers she was holding. She gripped the ledge of the counter as the pain intensified. It was starting again. She could almost feel the walls closing in on her, so she shut her eyes and concentrated on her breathing while focusing her chakra to the area of her brain where she felt the pain. 1… 2… 1… 2… She kept repeating that pattern in her mind until the pain started to dull. When she opened her eyes, the room appeared as normal and she let out a small breath of relief.

“Snow White.”

Shizuka jumped from the sudden voice and she quickly turned around to see Kabuto standing in the doorway. A smile settled onto her face in hopes of hiding her previous actions, but she couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been standing there. If he were to report to Lord Orochimaru that something was wrong with her, she didn’t want to think of what the male would possibly do to her.

The female cleared her throat to regain her composure. “Yes, Kabuto-senpai?”

“The Sound Five will be going with Lord Orochimaru on a trip. You’re coming with me.” Kabuto responded, walking in as if nothing was wrong. She couldn’t put her guard down just yet but she figured he didn’t see her almost pass out.

“Where are we going?” Shizuka asked. As much as she liked leaving the hideout to see the outside world, she didn’t feel too comfortable to be going with Kabuto. He was okay to her at first, but something about his demeanor had changed and it made her feel a little anxious.

Kabuto turned and looked in her direction. “Just do what I say.”


	7. Revelations

Kabuto jumped from tree limb to tree limb with Shizuka a step behind him. They'd been traveling with little breaks for a couple of days and honestly, she had been wondering what the rush was. The muscles in her legs were cramping from overuse, but she somehow mustered up the will to carry on. It wasn't like her senpai was going to give her any sympathy anyway; it didn't seem like a word in his vocabulary.

Finally, the male in front of her stopped and Shizuka stopped as well, standing on the branch behind him. Kabuto turned around and looked at the white-haired female behind him. “We’re here on a retrieval mission.”

“A retrieval mission?” Shizuka tilted her head in confusion. “We’re picking someone up?”

“Not someone, something.” Kabuto rolled his eyes. “Orochimaru has requested we find an herb. It grows around here somewhere, so we’re going to find it.” He turned around and started moving again. Shizuka frowned but continued to follow after him. This herb must be really important to Lord Orochimaru if we have to go this far for it.

An hour later, the two finally reached their destination - another one of Lord Orochimaru’s hideouts. The female was utterly exhausted and could not wait to get off her feet as the two entered the underground abode. The dimly lit hallways were nothing new to her, however as they kept walking, they entered a huge room with a lot of pillars and a giant snakehead on the back wall. To the right of the head was an open door to a room with a single rock table in the middle.

“Looks familiar, Snow White?” Kabuto spoke, breaking the silence. Shizuka stared at the table and envisioned herself waking up on it years prior, a scared and naive chunin who had been rescued from death. She remembered it as if it was yesterday, from hiding behind the table to meeting Kabuto to meeting and healing her savior. This means that Kusagakure - her home - is nearby.

“I didn’t know this place was still in use.” She turned away from the room and back to Kabuto. “When are we going to get the herb?”

“Soon enough.” The male adjusted his glasses. “Once I find the exact details, we’ll get it. In the meantime, you can take a break and catch up on your donations.”

With a nod, Shizuka left the room and went to one of the rooms on the hallway. The room was no different from what she was used to in Otogakure, but she’d rather be back in her own bed. Laying down, she tried to give her feet a break however she couldn’t do it. She was too restless. Finally, she could see what had become of her home village. Now that the war was over, was it gone or did they survive? Was her family still there?

No sooner had she laid down, the female was back on her feet. There was no way she could pass this opportunity up. Stepping out the room, she looked both ways down the hallway before exiting the hideout. Surely Kabuto wouldn’t mind if she took a walk; after all, he did say she could take a break. Once she was a little ways from the entrance, she changed her appearance with a quick jutsu, coloring her hair black and opting for simple slacks and a shirt as she entered the village.

Everything was brand new. The buildings that she had remembered as nothing but rubble had evolved into newer, taller structures. The bodies that she remembered were scattered along the dirt and debris were no more as happy, smiling faces strolling down the pathways replaced them. Kusagakure had grown while she was away and, honestly, it was quite overwhelming. It was as if she didn’t recognize her own home anymore.

As she continued through the small village, she kept her head down to make sure no one was paying too much attention to her; it would be an inconvenience if someone recognized her. Retracing all too familiar steps, Shizuka wandered around before she finally stopped. The sheer disappointment she felt as she stood on the unpaved road was an understatement. It was because she had disillusioned herself into thinking the village had evolved in more ways than just an outwards appearance.

What sat in front of her looked like a barren wasteland. Unrecognizable houses beyond repair. No sign of life across the area. Her clan’s sector, her history, her home. It was nothing but forgotten desolation.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

It was nearing the end of the day as the sun was setting over the horizon. Kabuto was standing on Tenchi Bridge, watching the sun retreat behind the trees. He was sure that this was the right place as his glasses caught a glare from the sun’s glowering rays. He didn’t move after he felt a presence to the left of him appear. “You’re here.”

The presence stood a couple feet away from him. A black cloak with its distinguishable red and white clouds surrounded the new individual as they watched Kabuto. “You’re early for a change. What do you know?”

Kabuto’s demeanor changed and he turned to the side to face the individual, Sasori Akasuna. “The subject has taken an interest in the upcoming Chunin Exams, so much so that he’s thinking of joining forces with Sunagakure. He has taken his bodyguards with him to the Land of Wind.”

The puppet shell stayed impassive, however a voice spoke up. “How bothersome…” Everytime he seemed to get close to Orochimaru, he was five steps further away. Just like the snake he was. “And Snow White?”

“She’s here in Kusagakure.” Kabuto reported instantly.

Sasori turned to look at the disappearing sunset. It had been almost a year since he had seen the female and he was actually looking forward to seeing her again. After she had used her blood to bring his core to life, she had fainted before he could fully assess the situation. Unfortunately he couldn’t feel her to know if she was okay, so he took her out to the meadow and left her before escaping. With what he had learned about her in her time assisting him, he figured someone would come out to look for her.

“Keep eyes on the subject; it won’t be long until I see him again. You’re dismissed.” Sasori turned away and left Kabuto alone on the bridge. The snake could do his own thing for now, but sooner or later, he was going to meet his demise. In the meantime, he could go and visit an old friend.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

It had been a while since Kabuto left the hideout and Shizuka was tired of sitting around and waiting. After reminiscing of the past at her family’s old home, she had come back before anybody could start questioning her in Kusagakure. The hideout seemed so much more eerie now that she was alone; although Kabuto-senpai was a little wary to be around, it was still comforting to know that someone alive was close by.

Leaving her room, Shizuka wandered the dimly lit hallways carrying a candle of her own. The hallways all looked the same, every room looked the same… She wondered how big this hideout actually was. The main room was the open area with the large snake head coming out of the wall. Branching off from the main foyer were identical hallways with the same rooms and candles. Placing her hand along the wall, the female took out a small breath and let it out, feeling the earth that surrounded her. She could sense how big the hideout was by envisioning the openings in the earth. There was one opening that was separate from the others and she curiously drifted towards it.

Opening a door on the backside of the left hallway, Shizuka peered into a lab and stepped inside. Some books and materials had been moved around so it was safe to say that Kabuto had been in here before he left. The walls were lined with bookshelves to the ceiling filled with scrolls, books, glassware, and various materials in jars ranging from plants to eyeballs and everything in between.

Shizuka moved towards where she had felt the opening and was met with a large bookcase. Frowning, she knew it would be hard to move, seeing how big and heavy it was, so she started moving the scrolls and books around. There had to be some way to get to the opening. After nearly clearing off the bookshelf, she finally picked up a scroll that caused the bookcase and surrounding wall around it to rotate to the side.

Cautiously stepping inside the opening, Shizuka looked around with her candle in her head. The room reeked of sour blood and stale air. There was a broken examination table discarded in the corner with papers and scrolls sprawled all over the place. The room definitely looked abandoned to say the least. Picking up one of the scrolls, Shizuka began to read the contents.

Day 26: Subject 37 out of 60 is dead, leaving less than half of the subjects left. Death is less instant, however survival is still the same. The cells aren’t fusing how they should be; something’s wrong. None of the subjects are showing good results; perhaps they’re too young?

Frowning, Shizuka placed the scroll down and wandered deeper into the room. Perhaps they’re too young…? Glancing over, her eye caught a half-open journal and she opened it up. Inside were diagrams - 60 in all - with marked injection sites and ages, but no names. The pages had before and after drawings and judging from the grotesque details on the after images, including missing limbs and distorted body mutations, she could only fathom what the subjects actually looked like.

Subject 13, male, 8 years old. Injection site - right thigh. Death - unknown parasitic disease. Result: Failure.

Subject 27, male, 10 years old. Injection site - left bicep. Death - fatal chakra suppression. Result: Failure.

Subject 59, female, 7 years old. Injection site - neck. Death - body degeneration. Result: Failure.

Shizuka dropped the journal on the floor, her hands shaking. Sixty children were taken here, were experimented on, and died. Sixty children were put through trial and error for the greater good that Lord Orochimaru had told her about. Sure, she knew about a couple things about the experiments, but she had never thought they would be performed on children. The youngest subject in the journal was barely five years old! Where were their bodies? Were they orphans? How did they get here? Why children? So many questions flooded Shizuka’s mind as she stared at the gruesome information in front of her.

Suddenly a sharp pain in her head interrupted her thoughts and she immediately grasped the side of her head with her free hand. Dark spots started to blur her vision and she began backing out of the room to escape. Of all the times, her fainting spells were trying to get the best of her now. The female tried to get her thoughts together, however her mind was swirling from all of the information on the experiments. If Lord Orochimaru wasn’t already using her for her blood, would she have ended up like those children?

The room felt smaller and smaller as her thoughts grew bigger and bigger. She had to get out of here. She couldn’t breathe. Dropping the candle which caused the flame to go out, Shizuka sprinted out of the room and down the hallways. The grassy plains of Kusagakure couldn’t come into view fast enough as the female left the hideout. Looking around, Shizuka felt dizzy as she tried to catch her breath. This was too much. Why did everything seem like a lie? What was she doing these past years? Who was she helping?

Placing a hand on a tree, Shizuka tried to steady herself. It was night time and although the cold night air felt nice amongst her flushed cheeks, it wasn’t enough to calm her nerves. The oxygen wasn’t flowing fast enough and, quite frankly, the ground felt like it was coming out from under her. What was going to happen to her? How long was she going to be here? Her eyes widened in fear and realization. Was she chosen on purpose and not just ‘found’ that day? The dark spots grew and suddenly, everything was black.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Sasori sat on an old tree stump as he stared at the reflection of the moon in the river; it was barely visible as only a sliver of the crescent was showing due to the clouds. His outer shell was sealed away for the meantime, however he chose to continue wearing his cloak. Thinking about what his sleeper had told him, he merely frowned. Soon enough he was going to find that snake and get his revenge. Resting his arm on his knee, he waited patiently for his next move.

A small groan interrupted the silence a little while later. There was a body laying behind the stump that slowly started to move. A hand appeared from under the messy long tendrils of hair and pushed the body to a sitting position.

“You’re finally awake.” Sasori spoke as he turned around. The long white hair that was usually in a bun was now out and sprawled across her shoulders. As her head tilted up to look at him, he could see her deep blue eyes which were hazy from her just waking up. That was only for a moment because as soon as realization hit, they grew wide in surprise as they recognized his unmistakable red hair.

“Sasori-san!”

“Hello little girl.” He responded with a small tilt of his head.

The female immediately jumped to her feet in excitement, however her body got the best of her and she stumbled forward dizzily. Falling to her knees by the stump, her head landed in Sasori’s lap. With a deep blush, Shizuka looked up at the male, his face illuminated by the soft moon light. “W-Well, um.. I do have a name.. It’s Shizuka.”

“I know what your name is, although little girl seems much more fitting.” Sasori replied.

Puffing up her cheeks in a pout, Shizuka answered back haughtily. “I am nineteen years old now, but nevermind that!” Feeling her body return to its normal self, she hastily moved away from her awkward position and stood up again. “Where did you go? You just disappeared last year and you didn’t even say goodbye.”

“My body was complete. Your duties were finished.”

His answer was quick and simple which made Shizuka’s brows furrow in anger. It was really that simple to leave her after they had spent nearly two years together? Did she really not mean anything to him? Come to think of it, maybe he only thought of her as a tool… possibly like Lord Orochimaru. Her anger dissipated into sadness as tears welled in her eyes and she quickly looked away from Sasori.

“That’s it?” Shizuka asked softly. “That’s the only explanation?”

Sasori looked back at the reflection of the moon, more so not to see the tears in Shizuka’s eyes, which were now falling freely down her cheeks. Fortunately the tears didn’t faze him as he had long since let go of such feeble emotions, but seeing her cry was a different feeling. Was this reproach? No, more like guilt? “Didn’t you have other duties? Instead of little girl, should I call you Snow White?”

Shizuka’s eyes widened in surprise. “How do you…?”

“You’ve been working under Orochimaru since before I met you.” Sasori replied. “How can you stand to be used by a two-faced snake?”

Frowning, the white-haired female looked away from the male in front of her. “I owe him my life. Lord Orochimaru saved me from death during the war.” After tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she absentmindedly played with her fingers. “What else was I supposed to do? I was barely twelve years old and my clan was lost in the war. He showed me mercy and took me in.”

“You don’t even know who he is.” Sasori stood up from the stump. “If you’re on the snake’s side, then you’re just like him.”

Shizuka looked back at Sasori. The soft light from the now full moon illuminated them as the clouds disappeared, however even that couldn’t cover the darkness that was around the male in front of her. As he took a step towards her, she was frozen in her spot. The animosity that she was feeling from him was enough to let her know not to move, but somehow she found the will to speak up as he got closer. 

“You’re wrong. I’m not like him.” Her fingers curled into fists as what he said wrapped around her head. “At first I thought it would all be okay, but I was naive and turned a blind eye; I was wrong.” Tears welled in her eyes as she could feel herself shaking. “But still, even though I know it’s wrong, why do I feel so much conflict? How can I turn my back on the person who gave me everything?”

Sasori stopped in front of Shizuka. Using his right hand, he lifted her chin so she was looking him dead in the eye and leaned forward into her face. His hands were cold, however she stopped shaking and released the pressure in her palms from her nails digging into her skin. Even though she had spent less time with Sasori than she did with Lord Orochimaru, she felt a deeper connection with him. When she looked at him, the turmoil in her head seemed to vanish. What was happening to her?

“You’re a smart girl and you understand my ideals, so I’ll give you a choice, Shizuka.” Sasori said to her. “Leave the snake and come with me, or I won’t hesitate to kill you with him.”


	8. Home

Shizuka sat with her feet dangling off her bed back in Otogakure. As she swung her legs back and forth, the only thing that occupied her mind was what Sasori had told her. The scene was out of one of those romance scrolls she had gotten from a passing traveling stand - the boy and girl standing face to face under the moonlight. The only thing missing was a kiss… Blushing as she thought about it, she stopped swinging her legs and laid back on her bed. Now wasn’t the time to think about something so frivolous.

Time seemed to have gotten the best of her; it had been nearly ten years since she was brought to Otogakure. During her time here, she was never on a tight leash, but she did everything that was expected of her. She also felt like she belonged here because at least Lord Orochimaru looked after her. It wouldn’t surprise her if she found out that Kusagakure never looked for her after her disappearance.

On the other hand, when she met Sasori, it was different. Everything she did with him, she was willing to do so. She had gotten so attached to him that she looked forward to when he would call her out, no matter what it was for. She was mesmerized by his puppetry work and his ambitions with eternal art. When she came to Otogakure, she was just going through the motions - wake up, give blood, sleep; it was a never-ending cycle for a decade. If she went with Sasori, maybe she could find an ambition as well.

Closing her eyes, she imagined how different her life would be beyond these rocky walls. Wherever Sasori would go, she would be at his side traveling with him and enjoying his company. The only outside problem she worried about was her constant fainting spells; she still didn’t know what was causing them and she didn’t want to burden Sasori with them either. Regardless, she would need to figure them out soon because Sasori said he would be back in ten days to get her answer.

“Enjoying your rest, Snow White?”

Shizuka’s eyes automatically opened as she felt the slight chill in the air from her cell door opening. She recognized that voice anywhere and immediately, she sat up to see its owner. “Welcome back, Lord Orochimaru.”

“I need you to do something for me. Follow me.” Orochimaru turned away from her and walked out the room. With a small frown, Shizuka stood up and left her room. Usually the only tasks that she was given was to be a gopher for herbs in the meadow and make donations, so for him to say he had another task was suspicious. Ever since she saw the abandoned room in the last hideout, every action the male in front of her made, she was wary of. The sense of security she found in him before had withered away into nothingness and it was only a matter of time before she’d been in one of those journals on the wall as a subject number nobody remembers.

“How was your trip?” The female spoke up, trying to make their little excursion less awkward than she was already making it.

Orochimaru smiled, unbeknownst to the young woman behind him. “Fairly educational.”

Shizuka tilted her head in confusion as he answered her question; what was he talking about? As they walked deeper into the hideout, they entered an unexplored portion in her eyes. Cells were filled with people of all ages wearing clothes that hung off their thin frames. Were these the people that were always crying out for help? 

“She’s new.”

“I’ve never seen her before.”

“She’s one of them.”

Shizuka avoided eye contact with the prisoners as they came up to the bars to watch and comment about her. It was accustomed to them that anyone who donned the purple rope belt with their attire was a part of Orochimaru’s elite force; the only exception was the boy with the glasses.

Finally, Orochimaru opened a large door at the end of the hall and the two walked into a large laboratory room filled with machines. Kabuto was already in there, working in the back corner at a lab station. On the floor by his feet were the herbs they had found near Kusagakure. Shizuka looked around the room curiously before her eyes landed on a contraption in the middle of the room. There was someone laying on a table with multiple wires attached to their body. Instinctively, she walked over to the set-up and her eyes widened in shock as she moved closer to the body and realized who it was.

“What happened to him?” Shizuka demanded, sharply turning back to Orochimaru and doing nothing to mask her hurt and anger. Why was Kimimaro immobilized on this table, looking even more pale than he already was? How long had he been in this state? Who did this to him?

“You dare to raise your voice?” Kabuto walked over to the opposite side of the table she was on, casting her an annoyed glance.

“It’s alright.” Orochimaru smirked. “You two were like brother and sister, so it’s only natural for you to be upset.” He approached the table as well and looked at Kimimaro, who’s head had wires coming out of it with a breathing tube to match, before looking at Shizuka. “He’s been sick with an unknown disease for a while and he’s been losing blood, which is where you come in. You’ll assist Kabuto with uncovering the disease. Unfortunately, this is where we part ways so if a remedy can’t be found, there’s always a substitute.”

Shizuka blinked as she tried to process what she had just heard. Kimimaro’s been sick for a while? What had been his symptoms? Why didn’t she notice anything that last time she had seen him? Thinking of the last sentence, her heart sank in her chest. “A substitute? How can you say that?” Narrowing her eyes, her fingers curled into fists as she looked up at Orochimaru. “Kimimaro did everything for you! He devoted his whole life to you! How can you just toss him to the side so easily for a ‘substitute’?”

Orochimaru raised his eyebrow in interest of the female’s actions. This was a new side to her that he hadn’t seen before; from the time she had been here, she was nothing but silent and complaisant. Stepping closer to her, he was amused to find that she stood a step back from him. No matter how she acted, she still had fear - which was good. “Kimimaro’s blind loyalty and dedication to me is appreciated, however his ultimate goal is now futile. We still have a task at hand to complete and if you cannot be of use to me, then anyone is replaceable.”

How could all of this be so simple for him? Shizuka couldn’t wrap her head around this, but more than anything, she was glad that Kimimaro wasn’t awake to hear this. The lack of humanity in his answer was enough for her to disregard all of her doubts. Even still, she had to get her final question answered. As Orochimaru turned away to leave the room, Shizuka spoke up cautiously. “Even me?”

Orochimaru stopped for a moment in thought, then turned back to the female. Her doe eyes were open with hesitation. He could see the growing anguish, so he simply smiled at her. “Of course not, Snow White. You’ll always be of use to me. Even after your last dying breath.”

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“So this Akatsuki stuff… You do all your recruiting like this, hm?” A young blond asked as he crossed his arms. The teen walked with three other people who were clothed in black cloaks with red and white clouds. No one answered as they kept walking and the boy rolled his eyes. “So the Akatsuki is a silent organization then, hm?”

“Kid, just do us a favor and shut up.” The tallest cloaked male replied. His skin was blue with gills on the side of his cheeks, just like a shark. He glanced back at the blond with a wild smile. “For someone who was lucky enough to escape death the first time, do you really want to have another run in so soon?.”

The blond narrowed his eyes. “My name is not ‘Kid’, it’s Deidara, hm. And I’m not a kid!” 

The shortest of the quartet let out a low amused chuckle, which caused everyone’s attention to shift to him.

“What’s so funny, Sasori?” The last cloaked male - a raven with a low ponytail - asked as they continued their journey back to the hideout..

“Just an old memory, Itachi.” The red head answered as he sat inside his puppet, Hiroko. He had recalled a certain snow-haired female that said the same words as she laid over his lap. Speaking of her, she should be making preparations since he was supposed to see her soon.

Deidara crossed his arms as he glared daggers at the back of Itachi’s head. “Is this Akatsuki group a forever thing, hm? The both of us can’t be there together, Itachi-san.” The male spoked his name with venom, vowing in silence that the next time they faced each other, the Uchiha’s little genjutsu trick wouldn’t be so effective.

“Hn.” Itachi replied solemnly.

Once the group made it back to Amegakure, Deidara was fully initiated and assigned to Sasori as his new partner. The puppeteer disappeared from the group and went to his room. Once the door was closed, he stepped outside of Hiroko and walked over to the window, claiming a seat on the window sill. He could work on improving the functions of his puppets a little more, however right now he had something else occupying his mind.

The time frame was half way over, which meant that he would need to start his journey to Otogakure soon to retrieve his assistant. As he looked out at the moon, he couldn’t help but think that the human mind was puzzling. Here he was, a missing-nin in a criminal organization, however he was preoccupied with thoughts of a female. A long time ago, he had thrown away feeble things such as emotions, however she was different. She accepted his views and agreed with him, she helped him even when he was nothing but a stranger to her, and he actually enjoyed her company. Although he wasn’t sure how long this would last, he didn’t mind it.

There was a knock on the door. “You in there, Sasori, hm?”

Sasori nearly rolled his eyes as he turned back to the window and told the interruptor to enter. It was just his luck.

Deidara walked into the room and let the door shut behind him. As he looked at the male, he blinked in surprise. “Who the heck are you, hm?”

“This is my real body, idiot.” Sasori glanced over at the dumb-founded blonde. “Since you’re my new partner, that’s the only reason why you get to know. Now, what do you want?”

“We’re supposed to go after that Orochimaru person, right? You know where he is, hm?” Deidara spoke, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his partner looked nearly the same age as he did. And here he thought that Sasori was some weird old man with a bad haircut.

Sasori frowned after hearing the snake’s name and stood up. “I have a source. We leave tomorrow at dawn.”

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“You’re awake. Would you like some water?” Shizuka smiled at Kimimaro as she noticed he was opening his eyes. It had been a little over a week since he had been brought back to the hideout and while there was still no sign of a cure for his illness, he was still able to do simple day to day activities. Fortunately, he was out of the laboratory and now he could sleep in his own bed again.

Kimimaro stayed silent and turned over on his side with his back facing her. Frowning, Shizuka placed the water on the bed side table and left the room, knowing that he probably wanted to be alone. Ever since he had woken up in the hideout on machines and found out that Lord Orochimaru didn’t need his services anymore, he refused to speak to anyone, including her. She knew that Kimimaro had a strong bond towards the male and he was hurting, but she felt that it was too much that he didn’t want to talk to her either considering how close they had been before.

“Ah, Snow White. Just who I was looking for.”

Shizuka stopped in the hallway and turned around so she was facing a now smiling Orochimaru. Lately, he had been communicating more with her, which only made her uneasy. She didn’t know what he was planning with her and she was still confused about Sasori’s relationship with him. The redhead mentioned him so casually before so there had to be some history.

“Good morning, Lord Orochimaru.” Shizuka bowed her head politely.

“Follow me.” The older male walked past her and, reluctantly, her feet started moving. Beforehand when she followed him, she was taken through the experimentation ward. Today, they were going the opposite way to the other side of the hideout. On this side of the hideout were different practice rooms for spars. They stopped in front of one of the spar room doors and she could sense three people waiting for them inside.

Once they entered, the room was nothing special; it was just a big open space with plenty of room for fighting. In the middle of the room stood three teens - a slouching male with bandages covering most of his face, another male with spiky, black hair, and a female with long black hair that was tied at the end.

“As you are aware, Otogakure is a growing shinobi village and in order for us to continue growing, I would like for us to participate in the upcoming chunin exams.” Orochimaru explained as Kabuto walked into the room behind them. “These are our rising chunin, Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, and Kin Tsuchi. The only thing is… I need to make sure they’re right for the job, which is where you come in, Shizuka Jisuberi. I need you to test their abilities.”

Shizuka turned to Orochimaru in shock. What was going on? During her time here, he had never asked her to fight or do anything physical; she only had to fulfill duties as a living donor. A sense of confusion took over her body. The thing that bothered her the most was that he called her by her real name for the first time. Did this mean that he was serious about her? “You want me to fight them?” She asked hesitantly. There was something wrong. What did he know?

“You were a chunin before you became a missing-nin.” Orochimaru looked back at her. “So you’re more than capable of this task. Unless, there’s something that’s prohibiting you from carrying out your duties?”

Shizuka frowned noticeably and turned back to the group of genin in front of her. Either he was baiting her or he already knew something, and by her luck, it was probably the latter. Taking in and letting out a slow breath, she stepped towards the trio with her regained composure, or whatever she could muster of it. “I can do this, Lord Orochimaru.”

“You must be a part of the elite guard, since you have that outfit on.” Zaku smirked. “I’m going to have fun taking you down today.”

Narrowing her eyes, Shizuka got into a fighting stance. She may be a little rusty since she hadn’t had to fight anyone in a while, however her abilities were still there. Further, she was in her natural element so she felt that she had a slight advantage. Still, as she prepared herself, something about this entire situation felt very off to her. Zaku and Kin charged her first and the battle began.

After what felt like hours later, Shizuka was still standing, but she was breathing fairly heavily. The right side of her body was completely covered in mud and she had cuts and bruises on the left side. Even if she was in her element, she had came into this battle completely unprepared. Undoubtedly the genin in front of her were given the orders to treat this as a life or death battle and they came at her with the intent to kill. During the battle, she could tell they were aiming to injure specific parts of her body, mainly her head with all of the sound attacks they were using. She also wasn’t aware of the body modifications that they had as well, which further put her at a disadvantage.

Across from her, the three defeated genin could barely stand themselves. The chunin was able to trap Zaku’s body halfway with her bottomless mud hole, knock Kin unconscious, and lock Dozu in a pillory made of rock. She had to give it to them; they were eager to prove themselves to Orochimaru. Letting the mud slide off her body, Shizuka mentally prepared herself for the battle to continue in the case that the two escaped, however a sharp pain came into her head and she dropped to her knees, trying to steady her breathing so she wouldn’t be overcome by the wave of nausea that had been growing throughout the body. The constant pressure from the sound waves she had incurred during the fight were rapidly catching up with her.

Orochimaru smirked as he saw Shizuka struggling and held his hand up. His experiment had been a success. “I’ve seen enough for today. Team Dosu can retire for the day and I’ll have your mission prepared for you soon.” Turning away, he opened the doors to leave. “Congratulations, you have passed my test, so I have a new assignment for you in the Northern Hideout, Snow White.”

The Northern Hideout? Shizuka turned around quickly to try and see Orochimaru. Her vision started to blur from the sudden movement and when she tried to stand, her legs quickly gave out on her. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel this way? “W-wait..!” The female choked out before the nausea overcame her and she threw up. There were spots of blood mixed in with the contents that came from her stomach and this completely terrified her. Something was wrong. Something was completely wrong. Once again, the walls were closing in on her and the last thing she saw was Orochimaru looking down at her pitiful state with an amused smile before she blacked out.

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Shizuka stood alone in her room, staring at the wall. The pain in her head had reduced to a dull throb and she was no longer feeling nauseous, but she was still very uncomfortable. A little earlier, she had woken up in the same laboratory room Kimimaro was brought to. Everything had come full circle as the same blood that she had been donating was now being put back into her body to replenish the amounts she regurgitated on the floor. 

In the time that she was out, which was a couple of days, Kabuto had done a full examination of her body and found that she had a massive brain bleed that was irreparable. Apparently she’d been living like this for a while as it didn’t hinder her from doing regular activities, however the strain from her last battle caused the bleed to expand. That only shed more light on her suspicions that the attacks she sustained took a strong toll on her already weakened body and the fact that Lord Orochimaru helped worsen her condition on purpose.

Silent tears rolled down the female’s cheeks as she confronted the fact that she was dying and there was nothing she could do about it. To make matters worse, she’d lost trust in someone that she thought cared about her. Someone that she had given up almost ten years of her life for. She regretted so much as she thought more about everything that she had done. But what was she supposed to do now? She was going to be transferred to the Northern Hideout soon. The only thing she could do now was… leave.

Deciding that she had wasted too much time here, Shizuka wiped her tears and quietly left her cell. Normally, she’d leave to take walks anytime she wanted, as long as she stuck to her schedule, so she was allowed to come and go as she pleased. It was best to leave everything here so she wouldn’t cause any suspicions. She stopped at a familiar door on her way out and knocked before entering. In the bed was Kimimaro, laying in the same position she had left him in. The same water cup was sitting on the side table from before.

“Kimimaro.” Shizuka spoke quietly as she approached the bed. There was no answer, which didn’t make this any easier for her. Touching his arm gently, she leaned over and kissed his temple. “I love you, little brother.” Turning away, she left a note next to the water cup in the case that he wanted to know more about her decision and disappeared out of the room before she couldn’t hold in her tears anymore. Kimimaro was the only person that could keep her from leaving the hideout. When the male first showed up, she promised that she would protect him as his older sister, but now, everything had changed. She just hoped that his views of her wouldn’t change because of her selfish request.

Once Shizuka stepped out of the hideout, she took off running into the forest without looking back. Was this what freedom felt like? For the first time in a while, she didn’t know what the future held for her and it was scary, yet exhilarating at the same time. This time, she could live out the rest of her life without any regrets or ‘what ifs’.

Breathless, the female finally stopped in front of an old abode that held many memories for her. She could feel an all too familiar chakra beyond the door and, immediately, she stepped inside. At the workbench was a redhead, who was currently adjusting some loose ends on one of his puppets. The male turned his head as the door opened.

“Hello little girl. I see you’ve made your-”

Shizuka let the door close behind her and instantly appeared at Sasori’s side. She wrapped her arms around the male and buried her face in his chest. Although it was hard due to the puppet’s exterior, she felt warmth from the living core, which was more than enough for her. Clutching his cloak in her fists, she finally looked up at him, her eyes glossy with tears. “I’m home, Sasori-san.”


	9. The Living Doll

The room was quiet, save for the occasional tinkering from Sasori at his work bench; he was currently tightening a few loose ends on Hiroko. The sooner he was finished, the sooner he could start moving on to his next project. As he worked, his partner sat by the door with a heavy sigh. When he had decided to join this ‘supreme’ organization, he didn’t expect to be sitting around and twiddling his thumbs.

“Sasori-danna, how long are we going to be here, hm?” Deidara looked up at the red head. The makeshift house they were sitting in didn’t seem like anything he thought his partner would be interested in.

“If you have somewhere better to be, then by all means, leave.” Sasori answered without sparing the male a glance. Agitated by his answer, Deidara stood up and crossed his arms. Of all people, why did he have to be paired with such a blunt, rude, and disrespectful fellow artist? 

Letting out an exaggerated breath, Deidara held his hands up as a sign of retreat. “Look, I don’t mind it if we have to wait or not…” He turned his attention to the back corner of the room. “But are we really playing babysitter for some random girl?”

On a cot in Deidara’s visual direction was Shizuka, who was fast asleep. Her white hair was sprawled across her head as small, shallow breaths escaped her lips. Honestly, she was sleeping quite peacefully for someone who was in the presence of two criminals, but it seemed like she and Sasori were close. When she arrived yesterday night, she immediately went to Sasori and didn’t seem to notice Deidara was also in the room.

“She’s not some random girl.” Sasori replied.

Deidara smirked as he approached the table. “Oh, I get it. I never thought of you as the type to have a girlfriend. When did you two get together?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the red head. “I learn new interesting things about you every day.”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Sasori was growing more and more irritated by the minute, although his face showed no signs of it. If this annoying brat spoke one more word, the Akatsuki were going to have to find him a new partner. As he ignored the blond, he turned his attention back to his puppetry, but his mind drifted towards Shizuka. When she had come yesterday, there was something off about her, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The female in the back stirred as she started to wake up. Slowly, she sat up and brushed loose strands of hair out of her face, pulling her snow colored locks up into her signature bun. After rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stretched her arms to the ceiling before standing up. Glancing over, she looked at Sasori before eyeing the long haired boy next to him.

“...Who are you?”

“Huh?” Deidara’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “I’ve been here the whole time, hm!”

Shizuka tilted her head in confusion as she thought about the events yesterday. Of course she knew that he was there yesterday as she had felt the presence of his chakra, however she didn’t believe she had caught his name… Or did she even ask him? All she remembered was that she walked inside and embraced Sasori. After that, everything was a little blurry, but that may be because she’s still recovering.

“I never asked for your name.” She apologized with a smile. “I figured you were okay because Sasori-san didn’t do anything. Since you’re wearing the same cloak as him, are you his friend?”

“Friend? Don’t me make laugh, hm!” The blond scoffed. “My name is Deidara and, unfortunately, this man next to me is my partner.” He jabbed his finger at Sasori, who was currently resisting the urge to break it off.

Shizuka couldn’t hold back a small laugh as she could feel Sasori’s animosity from where she was standing. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he had been lonely since he had left Otogakure. Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry too much about him if anything happened to her. A slight frown was beginning to settle upon her face before she caught herself and smiled again.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Shizuka.”

Deidara looked the female over for a moment before crossing his arms. “You look a little young to be Sasori-danna’s girlfriend.”

“G-Girlfriend?” Shizuka blinked as her face acquired a light pink shade of embarrassment. “You’ve got it wrong. I was just Sasori-san’s assistant.” 

“Assistant?” Deidara smirked. “Sure, that’s one way to put it.”

Flustered, Shizuka glanced over at Sasori before averting her eyes. “T-that’s the only way to put it!”

“Enough.” Sasori rolled his eyes. He stopped working on Hiroko and turned his glare towards his partner. The blond automatically stepped back with a hesitant laugh, which soon settled into him awkwardly clearing his throat. Once the red head was satisfied, he looked over at Shizuka, who stared back at him as her face began returning back to its normal color, save for a faint blush across her cheeks.

Shizuka spoke up, breaking the silence in the room. “What’s your plan, Sasori-san? Are you going to stay here?”

“You’re well aware of my plan.” Sasori told her. “Where is the snake?”

Deidara looked between the two in shock before pointing at Shizuka. “Wait a minute! This is the source you were talking about?”

The snow-haired female frowned as she approached the workbench. This was it; there was no turning back now. She already made the resolve yesterday that she was leaving with no regrets, so this was her first test. “I was never fully given details, but Lo- I mean the snake was interested in participating in the upcoming Chunin Exams with some of his test subjects. He was in Otogakure yesterday, but I’m pretty sure he has already left. He was taking his bodyguards with him to Sunagakure first before going to Konohagakure, but I’m pretty sure that his assistant has also either tagged along or followed behind.”

“So now we’re taking a road trip to Suna?” Deidara groaned. “We literally just got here, and now we have to go back the exact way we came, hm?”

Sasori gripped the chisel in his hand that he used to work on Hiroko and, in one motion, chucked it at Deidara’s head. The male, sensing the danger, immediately moved to the side so the chisel lodged itself in the wall behind him. Looking back at the small crater formed from the impact in shock, Deidara narrowed his eyes before looking back at Sasori, who showed no remorse. “What was that for, hm?!”

“Are you ready to go, little girl?” Sasori asked Shizuka, who was also focused on the hole in the wall.

“Don’t ignore me, hm!”

Shizuka turned her attention to Sasori and nodded her head. This was her fresh start, the beginning of her free life. Realizing that she needed to let everything go, she untied the purple rope belt from around her waist and laid it on the bed, knowing that they wouldn’t be coming back here anytime soon. From now on, she was just Shizuka Jisuberi, a missing-nin from Kusagakure.

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“This is how you always travel?” Shizuka asked as she sat on her knees on a large bird made out of Deidara’s clay. As she peered over the edge of the bird’s body, she could see the tops of trees and rivers. Aside from the view beneath them, the view around them was equally as stunning. She could nearly feel the clouds along her fingertips as they were so high above the ground. Honestly, she never wanted to come down.

Deidara grinned. “My art is pretty cool, isn’t it? This isn’t even the best part!”

“Your art?” Shizuka tilted her head in interest. Sasori spoke about his art freely as being eternal, so since they were partners, maybe their art styles would be similar. “What is your art like, Deidara-kun?”

“Don’t edge him on.” Sasori sighed from inside of Hiroko. There was no way he wanted to hear one more story about that idiot’s interpretation of ‘art’.

Deidara’s eyes widened in shock as he turned back to look at Shizuka, forgetting all about her question to Sasori’s appreciation. “Deidara-kun? There’s no way you’re older than me! I’m not a kid; I’m sixteen years old, hm!”

Shizuka smiled sweetly in response. “That makes you the baby of the group. I’m nineteen.”

“I-I… you…!” The blond turned around sharply, facing back to the direction they were moving. How was she older than him? Of course, it would’ve been weirder if Sasori was dating a minor, but he didn’t expect that she would have three years on him. Did that mean that he would have to refer to her as Shizuka-nee-san? No, there was no way!

“Deidara?” The female blinked in confusion.

While the Iwa-nin contemplated his life, Shizuka decided to leave him be and enjoy the view. Using her hands, she moved her bangs out of her face so she could see better in the wind. They had been traveling all day, so now she could witness a moment only a few could say they’ve experienced. In the distance, the sun was starting to set and the sky was illuminated with an array of pinks, purples, oranges, and blues.

“Are you seeing this, Sasori-san? It’s so beautiful!” Shizuka stood up so she could truly bask in the moment. This was something that she was never going to forget. Sasori quietly stood behind her, watching the sunset but also eyeing the female in front of him. She was radiating with a child-like innocence, something he had lost a long time ago. Of course, he knew that she also didn’t possess that type of naivety anymore, but that fact that she could still manifest that spirit made him slightly envious of her.

“Once it gets dark, we’ll stop for the night.” Sasori instructed Deidara, who seemed to have come back to reality.

No sooner had the moon showed its face, the trio landed in a small village, somewhere in an unnamed country between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire. The area was nothing but a traveling village with a few buildings - a market, a mailing post, and an inn. Shizuka checked the three into the inn, seeing as she looked the most unsuspicious in the trio, before escorting her group to their room towards the back of the inn. All of the rooms had outside entrances, much like a motel, which was perfect.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Deidara announced as they walked in the room. He wanted to be the first to wash off any germs he could’ve come into contact with while they were in Otogakure. As he left, Shizuka explored the layout. They got one of the bigger rooms, which had two small bedrooms with a common area between the rooms. The rooms didn’t have much, which was fine because it was only meant for travelers anyway.

“I can take the smaller room since you and Deidara-kun will be sleeping together.” Shizuka told Sasori, who simply shrugged as he stepped out of Hiroko.

Since it was already late, the trio didn’t take long to get ready for bed. In the middle of the night, Deidara was fast asleep on his futon. His blanket was sprawled out messily and barely covering his body as he snored softly. Sasori, who was wide awake, stood up and left the room. He didn’t need to sleep as a puppet, so all of this was only customary for his partner and Shizuka. One thing he wasn’t going to sit through the entire night though was Deidara’s incessant snoring.

As Sasori stepped out of the room, he noticed a certain snow-haired female sitting outside on the porch of the entrance to their inn room looking up at the moon. Since she caught his interest, he walked over through the open door way and claimed a vacant spot next to her.

“The moon is really beautiful, Sasori-san.” Shizuka spoke quietly as she hugged her knees to her chest. “I never saw it because I lived underground unless I was able to sneak out for a few moments.”

Sasori looked up at the moon as well before gazing at the female next to him. The moon’s soft light settled across her features, making her look angelic despite her somber face. “Why did you stay for so long?”

“I keep thinking about it, but I still don’t have an answer. Maybe because it was easy - food and protection for the sacrifice of some blood.” Shizuka merely laughed at the thought, however there was no feeling of amusement behind it. “Maybe because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Sasori didn’t reply and the two sat in silence for a while, feeling the slight breeze of the night wind which rustled the leaves in the nearby trees. Regardless of the situation, the night was filled with peacefulness.

“Sasori-san…” Shizuka looked over at the male. Once the redhead met her focus, she released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding before speaking again. “I have a request.”

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Sasori recognized the pleading look in her eyes. “What is it?”

“Ever since we’ve met, I’ve had time to gather my thoughts and discover my feelings. When you left, you took something from me and I wasn’t able to fully recover until I saw you again.” She started. As she continued speaking, she could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks, but if she didn’t say this now, when was she ever going to have the time to say it later? “I want to stay with you, now and later on, but I’m dying and you’ve seen it when I fainted before, but it’s worse now.”

Dying? Sasori’s eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered the word. So that’s what it was. Ever since the night they had completed his body, she was never the same. He had always been wondering what the issue was, but now he knew. How was she dying? Could it be reversed? When did she find out? So many questions popped up in his mind, but judging by her face, he could tell one thing. Her death was inevitable.

“So I have a request.” Shizuka continued. “When I die, will you make me into a puppet? If you find that I’m invaluable for fighting, that’s okay. As long as I can stay by your side, that’s all that matters to me.”

Sasori’s eyes widened. He had never had someone willingly come to him and ask to become a puppet. All of his human puppets had been acquired through seizure and countless battles. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” Shizuka’s eyes were filled with resolve. Clearly, she had thought this through just as she had said, Sasori thought to himself.

Shizuka nodded. “Even if I don’t end up being used, even if you keep me sealed in a scroll… I still want you to make me a puppet. You were the first person to keep me around without forcing me to do anything and I stayed because I wanted to. I want to be eternal with you. That is… if you want me to.” She didn’t dare look away after she found the courage to say all of that, however she couldn’t help but feel even more shy now. She had basically thrown all of her feelings at him all at once and she was scared of what his reaction would be.

“Okay.”

Shizuka’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Sasori. Tears pooled in her eyes and she quickly looked away so he wouldn’t see her cry. She didn’t know why she was feeling so emotional, but she was just so grateful to him for accepting her dying wish. She was grateful that even though he had left her, he still wanted her around. More than ever, she was grateful that he seemed to have enjoyed their memories together.

Turning back to the male next to her, Shizuka leaned towards him hesitantly. When he showed no signs of moving, she placed her hand over his living core before pressing her lips against his. Even though his lips felt cold, his core still harbored the warmth she had felt from him before. Even if he couldn’t feel her physical presence, she hoped that he could feel her sincerity through his core.

No sooner had she engaged the simple kiss, Shizuka pulled away slightly and rested her forehead against his. “Thank you, Sasori-san.”

Sasori looked into Shizuka’s eyes as she backed away from the kiss. What was this feeling? Was this what love felt like… it was different from the old hag’s love, different from what he imagined the love from his parents was. It just felt warm. Even through his empty shell, he could feel the warmth radiating from her, most likely from her contact with his core. For the moment, it felt nice.

Raising his hand, Sasori placed it over the hand Shizuka was touching his living core with. For now, he wanted to feel the warmth before he returned back to his position as the living doll. Shizuka had a slight look of surprise on her face as he returned her gesture. Fully committing, Sasori pressed his lips against hers for another kiss under the moon’s watchful gaze.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

In Otogakure, Kabuto silently worked in his lab, reviewing his notes from today’s experiments in his journal. The experiments were slowly becoming more successful, but the end result was far from reach. There was no way they’d reach their ultimate goal anytime soon at the rate this was going.

Orochimaru entered the lab and peered over Kabuto’s shoulder at the lab bench before claiming a spot in a nearby chair. Phase 1 of his plan was going to be commencing soon so he was more excited than usual. Soon enough, the very man who failed to eliminate him when he discovered his experiments would meet his demise. Then no one would be able to stop his objectives.

“Once I leave here, I’ll have you meet me in Konoha for the Exams.” Orochimaru crossed his legs. “I’m thinking of putting Snow White to use and having her stand in as the Otogakure squad leader.”  
Kabuto continued to read the journal without looking up. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he answered. “Do you believe she has the capability of being more than a blood bag?”

Orochimaru smirked. “Of course. She’s already showcased her abilities.” He shrugged as he thought about the test he had put her through. “If she dies on the mission, it doesn’t matter because her blood will still be viable. The seal will keep any blood left in her body after death usable for any amount of time until it is retrieved.”

The door to the lab opened and a white-haired male stepped in. The male walked slowly, still in recovery from previously sustained injuries. Carefully, he bowed in respect to Orochimaru as Kabuto eyed him.

“Kimimaro, what are you doing here?” Kabuto asked as Orochimaru eyed the slightly torn piece of paper in the male’s right hand.

“Lord Orochimaru, Shizuka has run away.” Kimimaro reported, handing the paper to the dark haired male.

Kabuto merely rolled his eyes as Orochimaru read over the note. Was he really that desperate that he would sell out anyone for the snake sitting next to him, Kabuto thought. That type of blind loyalty was hard to find, even he could admit that. But that didn’t take away how low the act was.

Orochimaru let out a small laugh as he finished reading the note. “Good work, Kimimaro. Such a shame she’ll have to die earlier than planned.”


	10. Happy Birthday

“I returned the key. We can leave if you’re ready.” Shizuka smiled as she walked towards Sasori and Deidara. It was the day after their night at the motel and it was time for them to continue on their journey. Orochimaru was on his way to the Hidden Sand so it would only be a matter of time before they would cross paths and ambush him.

Soon, the trio was flying in the sky on Deidara’s clay bird. No matter how many times they traveled on it, Shizuka would never get tired of it. To be able to see the world under her feet was truly an experience.

So much had happened the night before. She had told Sasori about her condition and even gave him her final request. To be honest, she was just grateful that he would grant her wish. Of course the additional expression of feelings that came afterwards was a bonus. Stealing a glance at Sasori, she wondered if he would ever tell her how he actually felt about her.

“What?” Sasori’s voice startled her. Shizuka automatically looked back out at the clouds and rubbed the back of her neck absentmindedly, hoping the quickened pace of her beating heart would slow down.

“I-I… Your cloaks!” She cleared her throat and turned back to Sasori. “You and Deidara-kun are wearing the same cloak and he mentioned that you were his partner before. It’s a pretty pattern, so I was wondering if it has a special meaning or something. It looks familiar...”

Deidara turned around and tilted his head. Given her past and personal connections, he assumed she had known. “You don’t know about the Akatsuki?’

“Akatsuki? I’ve lived underground for almost 10 years, Deidara-kun.” Shizuka answered truthfully. “I really don’t know much about what went on after the war.”

“Oh. Well, those who wear this cloak are part of the Akatsuki, a group made to bring world peace, hm.” Deidara grinned, stretching his arms out to the side in emphasis. “Only the top of the top can be initiated in, hm. Personally, I don’t really care about all that stuff but they said I can do whatever I want, hm, so it works out.”

Shizuka thought about the group with interest. World peace? It was a far-fetched idea, but it held the premise of hope. She couldn’t help but think of how different everything would be if her village hadn’t been struck by war.

“There are more of you in this group?” The snow haired female asked, genuinely interested.

Deidara nodded. “Of course, hm. They’re all really strong too, even though I don’t agree with everyone that was chosen.” The blond began to scowl as he thought of a certain raven-haired male. Confused, Shizuka turned to Sasori for clarification.

“Don’t mind him and his personal vendettas.” The red head rolled his eyes inside Hiroko.

“You’re one to talk, hm! We’re only here because of your personal vendetta with your old partner.” Deidara crossed his arms. Shizuka’s eyebrows raised in surprise as the connections started to click in her mind. So, Lord Orochimaru was once Sasori-san’s partner, which meant that he was also a part of the Akatsuki at one point in time.

Sasori glared at the blond. “We’re here on a mission by the leader. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“I understand now.” Shizuka nodded at Sasori. “I understand why you were so angry that night by the river. Did he do something to you?” Her mind drifting back to the cruelty she had seen in the Kusagakure hideout, she sincerely hoped Sasori wasn’t an experiment as well.

Deidara raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. “The river? Did you two go on a date or something, hm?”

“Mind your business.” Sasori warned.

“Who?” Deidara and Shizuka asked.

“Both of you.”

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

“Thank you for the food.”

Shizuka smiled as she sat in the back of a traveler’s cafe in a booth seat, eating a rice ball. The trio had decided to stop and eat, before continuing their journey by walking to avoid suspicion. A couple of customers in the cafe eyed the three either way due to their peculiar clothing choices.

While Shizuka and Deidara were busy eating, Sasori glanced at the female in front of him before looking out the window in thought. A couple of nights ago, she had told him that she was dying. For some reason, he felt a lot of concern for her, but something hurt within himself. Why didn’t he notice it? The night he completed his new body, she had fainted, which no doubt came from her condition.

Now that he knew of her past through her and Kabuto, he had come to a conclusion - Shizuka was a target. As long as she was with him and his partner, they could be tracked down. She could be a liability and there’s no telling how fast her condition was progressing. Where would she go once this is over? Taking her to the hideout wasn’t an option. With their future uncertain, what could he possibly do for her?

But, he couldn’t let her go.

“When’s your birthday, Shizuka?” Deidara asked as he sipped his tea.

“July 17th.” She answered easily with a smile.

“So, you’re a cancer. I’m a taurus, so that means we’ll be pretty good friends.” The blond grinned. “I knew that you’d be a good person when I first saw you.”

Shizuka blinked in surprise. “Wow, I didn’t think you were interested in astrology, Deidara-kun.”

“I-I’m not.” Deidara shook his head, the slight stutter giving him away easily. “I just heard a couple things from someone I used to know. That’s all.”

Shizuka giggled as she finished eating her last rice ball. Nothing but good things had been happening recently and she was grateful. Traveling with Deidara and Sasori was a memory she would always hold onto and lately, she hadn’t had any fainting spells, which was a great sign as well.

Once the hostess left the check at the table, Sasori took out enough money to cover the bill as Deidara eyed the receipt. Swiftly picking it up, he looked over the contents before turning to Shizuka. “Today’s your birthday.”

Shizuka looked at the small piece of paper in surprise. Wow, it really was. She hadn’t been paying much attention to dates for a while. With the daily cycle she had been living, everyday started to blend into each other. Whenever she got a hold of a calendar, it was usually already past her birthday anyway.

“Happy Birthday, Shizuka-nee-san.” Deidara smirked.

The female looked up at Deidara before tears pooled in her eyes. Quickly, she looked away to wipe her eyes as Deidara looked at her, flustered. He hadn’t meant to make her cry. Feeling his ears burn in embarrassment, he looked to Sasori for help. “Sasori-danna, I didn’t mean…”  
On the other hand, Shizuka was trying to get a hold over her emotions. It had been so long since someone told her that and it brought back a lot of memories of her family. Turning back, she smiled at Deidara through her tears. “Thank you.” 

The group left the cafe and began their journey on foot, jumping from limb to limb in the trees. They would continue this for a couple of hours before setting off back in the air. With this method, it wouldn’t be long until they would meet up with Orochimaru.

Deidara took off on his own after a while, saying he needed to do something really quick before they flew away. Shizuka sat on the back of Deidara's clay bird with Sasori, humming a soft tune. Sasori searched the area for any hidden onlookers, knowing that Deidara probably went to use the bathroom or something. Once he determined everything was fine, Sasori looked at Shizuka.

“Happy Birthday little girl.”

Shizuka stopped humming and looked back at Sasori before smiling sweetly. “Thank you.”

“Hmph.” Sasori spoke sarcastically. “No tears this time?”

Blushing in embarrassment, Shizuka turned her head away, crossing her arms. “I-I was just caught by surprise, that’s all. I hadn’t heard that from anyone besides my parents.” Looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, she pouted. “I really wish you’d stop calling me little girl. I’m twenty years old now.”

“With a pout like that, the title still fits you.”

Her eye twitching in annoyance, Shizuka turned completely back to Sasori. Deciding it wasn’t even worth it to respond, she let out a sigh and changed the subject. “The funny thing is, it’s not just my birthday; it’s your birthday too.”

Sasori furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “My birthday?”

“Yes, yours too silly.” Shizuka laughed softly. “On the day of my eighteenth birthday, we finished your body. Today’s your day of rebirth, so… Happy Birthday Sasori-san.”

Sasori watched the snow-haired female in front of him. The sound of her innocent, carefree laugh, filled with nothing but happiness. Her funny reactions when he teased her. The way she talked about him with respect and love. She grew on him over the years and he harbored feelings for her, but in the back of his mind with the line of work that he did, he already knew he didn’t deserve her.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

“What can you do, Shizuka…nee-san?” Deidara asked, turning around to face the female. Although he had said it so easily in the moment before, speaking to her like she was an older sister still didn’t sit right with him - partially because he was still in disbelief that she was only a few years older than he was. “You must be pretty capable if you're Sasori-danna’s ‘assistant’, hm.”

“There’s no need to put an emphasis on assistant.” Sasori rolled his eyes.

Shizuka let out a soft laugh as the blond’s slight awkwardness. “Please, you can just call me Shizuka.” Honestly, she preferred not to be referred to as an older sister because it made her think about Kimimaro. What was he doing now? Was he feeling better or was he still wallowing away? Was he eating now or was he still refusing to have even a sip of water? Did he forgive her?

“Shizuka?” Deidara raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the female’s sudden silence as she stared in deep thought.

The snow-haired female shook the thoughts out of her and looked back at Deidara. “I know how to keep myself alive. I don’t have any prominent features like yours or Sasori-san’s art, but I do have my mud. Maybe that counts for something?”

The youngest tilted his head. “Mud, hm?”

“Yes. It’s a jutsu passed down through generations in my family.” Shizuka smiled, thinking about her past days in Kusagakure on her clan’s grounds. “We were able to use mud for everything so you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Hm..” Deidara thought to himself as he looked back in the direction they were headed.

Continuing their travel for a couple more days, the trio stopped in the Land of Rivers. It was more efficient to avoid the main village, so they settled for a smaller travel station near the border. Shizuka jumped down off the clay bird and looked back at Sasori and Deidara flew off. Sasori had told her to stay put and he would come back after he was done. Even though she was worried, what else could she do? She was in no condition to assist in the fight and would only be a bother.

With some of her money, Shizuka was able to get a small motel room for herself. She’d visited the market and picked up some fruit and nuts so she could eat if she got hungry. If her calculations were right, it would take Sasori and Deidara almost two days to get to the rendezvous point, fight, and come back.

It only took a couple hours of sitting in the room for Shizuka to become restless. From everything she had witnessed at the different hideouts she had been at, Orochimaru was not an easy opponent. The last thing she wanted was anything bad to happen. If Orochimaru found a connection between her and Sasori, what would happen and would it be her fault? Maybe she should’ve never left the hideout.

Shaking her head, Shizuka stood up, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Sasori will be okay. She made the right choice to leave and she can’t regret it now. Right now she was just thinking too much. Pulling out the futon from the closet, she turned out the lights and tried to go to sleep. Sasori wouldn’t leave her again.

Late the next morning, Shizuka woke up from her slumber. Although the bed was comfortable, her mind hadn’t stopped racing since yesterday; she was too anxious. Opting to skip breakfast, she took a quick shower before heading out to take a walk. Perhaps feeling the earth around her would help her calm down.

She’d been walking for about thirty minutes before she came to a small stream. There were some unusual flowers that reminded her of the ones near Sasori’s old abode. Maybe there were some herbs that she could get to pass the time while she waited for Sasori to come back.

As she plucked a couple of stems, Shizuka got a weird, familiar feeling and immediately stood up. Turning sharply on her heel, she stared into the forestry until she jumped back to the other side of the stream, barely escaping a thrown kunai. The female narrowed her eyes as a silver-haired male stepped out from behind a tree and into the light.

“It’s nice to see you again, Snow White.”


	11. Shizuka (The Finale)

The mid afternoon breeze blew past Shizuka, moving her bangs out of her face. If it hadn’t been for the distraction at hand, maybe she would’ve enjoyed it. Kabuto stood stoically on the other side of the stream as he stared at the female. Judging by her initial feeling, she knew that this wasn’t going to be a verbal only conversation.

“I don’t go by that name anymore.” Shizuka frowned as her mind sought after any and every way she could escape. She’d only ever seen Kabuto in the lab or hideout, so she wasn’t sure of any of his capabilities and, frankly, she didn’t want to find out. Orochimaru put a lot of trust in him as his right hand man so that was enough reason for her to be wary of him..

Adjusting his glasses, the silver haired male smirked. “Surely you didn’t think you’d live as a traitor.”

“No one’s that foolish. I’d rather die out here than on a table in a basement.” Shizuka narrowed her eyes. “I know of the experiments and those poor children; I saw the journals in that room. How can you serve someone who could perform those same actions on you one day?”

Kabuto simply stared at the female in front of him, not bothering to give her the satisfaction of a response. He would’ve let her keel over from her own disease, but he’d rather nip everything in the bud sooner than later. Instead, he tilted his head to his left, alluding to her to glance in that direction. Once Shizuka looked, she was ambushed by a barrage of taijutsu attacks from a male nearly two times her size. Quickly adjusting her stance, she defended most of the attacks, but took the full force of a few hits before she could back away. With each attack he did land, she felt a little more energy expended than normal, which alarmed her. Frowning as she now acquired bruises on her forearms, she immediately recognized the male as one of the shinobi Orochimaru had introduced her to - Jirobo, she believed?

“You’re not answering me because you know I’m right.” Shizuka kept her eyes on Jirobo, not wanting to be caught off-guard. It was clear that Kabuto was not going to involve himself in dirtying his hands right now. Covering her lower arms in mud, she began healing herself as she prepared herself to fight back.

Behind Shizuka, two other males dropped down from the trees - the ninja with six arms and the leader with two heads. Glancing at them in the corner of her eyes, her heart began to race as she could feel the adrenaline rushing throughout her body. Realization hit her and she clenched her fists. Everything was a set up from the beginning and she had fallen into the trap. Finding Orochimaru was only a distraction to get her alone.

Kidomaru was the first to lung and attack her, also going the taijutsu route. Knowing better than to try to take on six arms at once, she formed a couple hand signs and used the water from the stream to create a barrier to separate herself; it would be better to take on one person at a time.

“Let’s not waste our time on trash.” Sakon sneered. “We have things to do after this.”

Jirobo stomped his foot, causing the ground to shake as multiple levels of earth rose at a rapid pace towards Shizuka. The female reacted with speed, creating a wall of her own earth to block the attack. Meanwhile, Sakon disappeared and reappeared in front of her, nearly landing a kick against her face, which caused the female to jump away into the trees.

“At least make the game more interesting… You’re boring me with your skill level.” Kidomaru grabbed Shizuka’s ankle before she could make it to far and threw her back at the ground. Catching herself with her hands, she regained her stability and flipped back onto her feet. This was hard. She could barely react fast enough and they weren’t letting up - as expected of Orochimaru’s elite guard.

“I expected you to have more energy.” Kabuto crossed his arms as he spectated.

“Honestly.” Sakon rolled his eyes. “Cowards like you can at least run.”

Jirobo was on her again before she could respond. For someone with as big a stature as his, he could manipulate his body well. She was pretty decent with taijutsu so for the most part, she could keep up with him but from their encounter before, something wasn’t right with his movements. It wasn’t until he grabbed her wrist and she automatically felt a shift in her energy that she immediately kicked him in his chest and melted out of his grip with her mud to get away.

“You’ve got a good taste.” Jirobo smirked, having eaten away at some of her chakra reserves.

This was bad; she needed to escape now but she couldn’t find an opening. Throughout the fight, the three males continuously surrounded her and Shizuka found herself utilizing more chakra than she thought she would. Her basic chunin skill was no match against her opponents but using some wit, she figured out how to make some desperate attempts work.

The sun had gone down and the moon was starting to make its appearance in the sky. Shizuka was hunched over and breathing heavily, holding her right arm near her shoulder. She had bruised it badly after encountering another powerful physical attack from Jirobo. Feeling the effects of chakra exhaustion, it was the combination of lingering adrenaline and the will of survival that she was still standing on her own two feet. There were black spots appearing and disappearing in her vision, and sooner rather than later, she was sure the ground was going to come out from under her.

Around her, Jirobo was caked to the ground for now after getting caught by her muddy water wall. She was able to trick Sakon and trap his ankles in her bottomless mud hole. As for Kidomaru, after much trial and error, she was able to enclose him in her earth dome - which was most likely pure luck on her end. All not permanent solutions, but they were good enough to stall.

A sharp melody from a flute came across her ears and, before she knew it, Shizuka had dropped to her knees. The world around her was stained red with the stream and forest disappearing out of her sight. Replacing nature were piles of bodies - some she recognized as her own clansmen and family, Kusagakure villagers and shinobi from the war, and the children from the journal she read in Orochimaru’s abandoned hideout. Her breath hitched in her throat as she wanted to run away, however her body wouldn’t obey her commands. Instead, her arms and legs were bound.

At the top of the pile was Orochimaru, who sent her a sinister smile. With every step he took towards her, she cowered in fear. He was going to kill her and there was no escape. She wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn’t leave her throat; the sweet, sickening sound from the flute was drowning everything out.

“Why did you leave me?” Orochimaru stopped in front of Shizuka, standing over her with his shadow covering her in darkness. As she tried to look away from him, she noticed in horror that her skin was melting off of her bones. The male tilted her chin back towards him, her frightened blue eyes meeting his ominous golden ones. “When I gave you everything, my dear Snow White.”

“Make it stop! Leave me-”

Kabuto’s hand gripped the female’s neck as he pressed her body against the half-broken tree trunk, pulling Shizuka out of her thoughts as he choked her. Her face flushed with heat as she clawed at his hand weakly, realizing that it had all been a genjutsu. “Orochimaru gave you a purpose and you betrayed him.”

“I found a new purpose.” Shizuka gasped for air.

A searing pain shot through her nervous system and her eyes widened in shock. Kabuto had jabbed his hand through her stomach, using his chakra scalpel to tear through her skin and muscle. The dome she had made earlier crumbled, freeing Kidomaru, and her mud softened, allowing Sakon and Jirobo to brush themselves off as her chakra was released. The warmth in her body changed as an unsettling cold took over.

“I doubt that purpose was worth anything.” Kabuto let go of her body so she slid down against the trunk of the tree.

“I’m content. I’m leaving this world knowing that I did all I could for who is most important to me.” She sputtered blood out of her mouth as she struggled to keep her eyes focused on him. “Perhaps...you’ll find your...true purpose one day too.”

Shizuka watched Kabuto and the other ninja disappear into the night. Once again, she was alone and she was too weak to move. As a medical nin, she already knew the telltale signs she was experiencing and what they meant. Yet still, she smiled to herself. She knew the risks and consequences for leaving, but she moved forward anyway. As her life was escaping her, she thought of Sasori and hoped that he wouldn’t be lonely without her. Tears stained her cheeks as she wished that she could see his face one more time.

Thank you, Sasori-san, for taking a chance on me.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

“There’s no way he could have survived such a big display of my art, hm.” Deidara tilted his head as he looked at the huge pile of rubble in front of him and his partner. His partner, however, had other thoughts. The snake that he knew was crafty and somehow had a way to make it out of any unfortunate situation. More than likely, there was some hole that he crawled into and escaped, so there was no use in chasing him now.

“Let’s go.” Sasori turned around after sealing the Third Kazekage back in its scroll. There was something that had bothered him while they had been fighting. Not only had Orochimaru known they were already there, he was holding back. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, Sasori travelled in silence with Deidara, walking through the hot sands before deciding to fly the rest of the way back. 

The blond teen looked out in the direction they were going as he stretched his arms. “Once we meet back up with Shizuka, what are we going to do next, hm?”

Sasori didn’t answer his question as he was lost in his thoughts. What were they going to do? In the event that the snake was still alive, Shizuka may be a human tracker which wouldn’t be beneficial for anyone. Attempting to join the Akatsuki wasn’t an option for her either, especially concerning her condition. Unfortunately, the girl was going to be on the run for the rest of her life unless she found somewhere to take her in. As selfish thoughts of not wanting to separate from her loomed over his head, the only logical answer for her would be to leave him if she truly wanted to live.

As the two traveled, it took them over a day to reach the small traveling village they had dropped Shizuka off at. Being that it was late at night, most of the people around had already retired to their homes to rest. Sasori could almost hear Shizuka’s voice greeting him as he returned and the thought made him smile underneath Hiroko.

Once he and Sasori approached the motel, the redhead stopped and narrowed his eyes. There was something wrong; he didn’t sense Shizuka’s chakra here.

“She isn’t here, hm…” Deidara spoke, catching Sasori’s drift. Going inside to the front desk, Deidara disappeared before coming out moments later. “The hostess said she left the building late this morning and she hasn’t returned yet, hm.”

Deciding to split up to search the surrounding area, Sasori went left and Deidara went right. There was no way she could’ve gone far since she knew they would be coming back. As he walked through the dense forest, a feeling of unease came over him. He had grown attached to her and now he was worried about her. Once again, his humanity was seeping out. Where was she? Why wasn’t she-

A faint chakra signature caught his attention and automatically, his body disappeared from his current position. The familiar energy was fading quickly with each step he took. As a skilled shinobi, he knew immediately what this meant but could someone ever be fully prepared for such a revelation? Still, his feet were on autopilot and the only thing he could do was fall on false hope.

As Sasori stepped into a small clearing, he noticed a small stream split the open space in half. The scene was a warzone - most of the nature had been reduced to mud and dirt and a couple of the trees had been knocked down. On the other side, propped against the side of a broken tree trunk, was Shizuka. The moon’s light seemed to shine perfectly through the gaps in the trees where her body laid, illuminating her as if she were an angel.

Approaching her, he knelt down at her side. She had semi-dried blood caked in her hair and down the side of her face. Her arms and legs were covered in cuts and bruises and there was a deep gash in her stomach, no doubt her fatal blow, with her blood staining the surrounding area of her clothes.

“Shizuka…” 

Hiroko disappeared, leaving Sasori in his puppet form. He pulled her body towards him so her head was resting against his chest. He already knew it was too late. Just as he had created a way to bring her to him, she had led him back to her. Even through his cloak, her body felt cold against his core.

The foolish little girl he’d met in the clearing that day. The persistent little girl who ignored all signs of danger to help him. The cooperative little girl that agreed to be his assistant. The patient little girl that waited for him to return. The sweet little girl that fondly remembered their memories for him. The seemingly innocent little girl that grew into a beautiful young woman before his eyes. The one who showed him favor, the one who showed him love, the one who, even in death, still retained a look of eternal peace.

Shizuka was gone.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

A certain redhead stood in his workshop at one of the organization’s hideouts.

A knock on the door interrupted the male’s thoughts and in walked Deidara. The blond was worried about his partner; ever since they had returned to base to await their next orders, Sasori had holed himself up in his room and never came out.

Eyeing the workshop bench, Deidara recognized the strands of snow white hair hanging over the edge of the counter. As he stepped closer, a body - Shizuka’s body - came into view. It was a deep contrast to what she had looked like before. Her hair, which had been caked with blood, had been washed. Her body, which had multiple deep cuts and bruises, was visibly flawless. A simple blue dress was draped over her to protect her privacy. He could tell that Sasori was very meticulous in making sure she was perfect.

“Everyone’s almost here for the meeting, hm.” The younger male spoke cautiously, not wanting to disturb his grieving partner. Although obviously he hadn’t known the female as long as Sasori had, he could still feel her loss. It was something inevitable, something every shinobi had to go through, however that didn’t make the pain any less noticeable.

“I’m aware. You can leave.”

Sasori’s voice was the same as always; instead of questioning him, Deidara decided to let it go and make his exit. He didn’t need to tell him what kind of organization this was, nor did he need to worry about any of his actions. After all, they were criminals with a job to do. Sentiments were fleeting - just like his art.

The entire time Deidara was in the room, Sasori never even made a glance in his direction. The moment the door closed, the redhead placed his palm against the side of Shizuka’s cheek. He was no longer able to see her smile, hear her laugh, or feel her warmth. On the palm of her hand, he had painted the seal of the scorpion - the same seal on his heart. Using his chakra strings, he manipulated her so the seals were connected. Of course, it didn’t feel the same as that night under the moonlight. Nothing was ever going to be the same. All he could do was take in her tranquil expression and know that she was now at peace. Her memory would now be carried through her body and her blood that was circulating in his core.

Taking out a scroll, he sat down at his desk on the wall behind the workbench where his tool wall was. As he started writing out the jutsu to enclose Shizuka’s body into the scroll, he couldn’t help but think of the Mother and Father puppets that he had created. After briefly glancing back at Shizuka, he began writing down his instructions.

The Living Doll  
\- The puppet in this scroll has been named Shizuka.  
\- The puppet in this scroll may never be used in battle.  
\- The puppet in this scroll must be kept with the master who created it as a pair and can never be separated.  
\- The puppet in this scroll must have its integrity contained and cannot be altered in any way or fashion.

Once he was finished, Sasori stood up and looked down at the female who allowed him to be a witness to humanity once again. As her body disappeared in a puff of smoke, all he could see was her look of interest and wonder as she would sit and watch him work. He could vividly remember one of their conversations like it was yesterday. 

FLASHBACK

“You don’t think it would get lonely being eternal and everything around you isn’t? You’ll just watch everything pass by but you’ll still be here.” Shizuka frowned for a moment as she watched Sasori tinker with an older battle puppet. “That sounds a bit depressing. I wouldn’t want you to be sad.”

Sasori stopped working on the arm in front of her and focused his attention on her instead. “So what would you do to combat that?”

“You could make me into a puppet.” She smiled up at him innocently. “Then we could keep each other company.”

END OF FLASHBACK

Rolling up the scroll, he tied it with a ribbon and tucked it away into his cloak. With this, she would travel by his side until the end of his eternity. Even then, once he died, they would still be together. His memory, his living doll - that was enough for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves!
> 
> Today is another bittersweet day for me as it marks the end of our adventures with Shizuka and Sasori. I greatly appreciate the love and support that you've given to The Living Doll and I hope that you'll support my other stories as well.
> 
> I'm no stranger to constructive criticism and reviews, so please let me know what you think!
> 
> Peace and love,  
> Mira


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